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“It was a very<br />
stressful week,<br />
lessons were<br />
learnt and we’ll<br />
certainly never<br />
have a BBQ with<br />
skewers again”<br />
At 8pm, the vet called. They still couldn’t see any blockage, but Fletcher was in pain. We<br />
had a choice. They could take him into surgery and open his stomach but we’d run the risk<br />
of sepsis as the food could leak out and cause serious complications. Or we wait until the<br />
morning, hope that he had passed the skewer and was just uncomfortable, but there would<br />
be a risk..if he got worse during the night the vet would be operating on a very sick dog in<br />
the morning.<br />
We took a few minutes to think about our options. Had we seen a skewer in his poo the day<br />
before? We couldn’t be sure, but we had seen something. Is Fletcher being dramatic? He<br />
is a sensitive soul. Let’s not forget the time he acted exactly like this after swimming. After<br />
multiple x-rays and scans, he just had wind! Was this the same?<br />
Before we’d come to a decision the vet had called again and told us she was taking him<br />
to surgery, he was in too much pain. I was a wreck and I laid on the floor crying for a good<br />
hour. You can see why Fletcher is dramatic, he takes after his mum!<br />
At midnight we got the call. He was out of surgery, still sedated but ok. They had removed a<br />
five inch skewer perfectly intact from his stomach. It had been millimetres from perforating.<br />
We were allowed to see Fletcher a couple of days later. He was doing well, but<br />
unfortunately he wouldn’t eat. Armed with a Tupperware of chicken we went to see our<br />
boy. It was a sad sight. He could just about muster a little tail wag. We tried taking him for a<br />
walk around the courtyard but he only wanted to curl up in his bed. We had no luck feeding<br />
him either.<br />
Two days later, he still hadn’t eaten, and the vet suggested a feeding a tube would need<br />
to be inserted into his stomach if he didn’t eat in the next 24 hours. We decided to take him<br />
home, hoping he’d feel more comfortable.<br />
He is fussy with food. He will never finish a bowl of dinner, only likes certain brands and he<br />
will never take food from a stranger. At home I tried some boiled chicken with no luck so I<br />
decided to dot it around the house hoping he’d eat it in his own time. After a few hours of<br />
cuddles on the sofa, he perked up and thankfully followed the trail of chicken. Phew!<br />
The days that followed were slow. Fletcher was feeling sorry for himself and had oddly<br />
become mute. It took at least a week for him to find his voice. Perhaps I should of<br />
appreciated the silence a little more, as he is now back to full health, bouncing around,<br />
whining and demanding food every hour. This incident has given him a raging appetite!<br />
It was a very stressful week, lessons were learnt and we’ll certainly never have a BBQ with<br />
skewers again. I’ll also never moan about the mess Fletcher makes, I missed his dog hair<br />
and dirty pawprints. I’ll never complain about his squealing, the house is far too quiet<br />
without him. I knew I loved him more than I should a dog, but wow, when I thought I was<br />
going to lose him, it has made me love him even more!<br />
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