Sweet Melissa has, over the past three weeks, experienced, um -- no delicate way of saying this -- very loose stools and some very runny diarrhea. Sorry.
Melissa will be twelve in September and I cannot tell you how discomforting it is to know something is wrong; something needs to be corrected.
Her regular vet put her on five days of Flagyl which, he hoped, would take care of any parasites which may have been causing her problem. Didn't work. Okay, then, he puts her on five days of a Sulpha antibiotic which, again, does not work. So, what's next? Ultrasound of her bowel and abdomen.
Okay. We all know what it means when the vet wants an ultrasound of the abdomen. We're looking for masses and, she is, after all, eleven years old and, for goodness sake, she's getting up there, George, and well...
Well, since my vet is a rather small operation, they have to bring in someone to do an ultrasound. So, I kept waiting and waiting and waiting. Finally, I called them and suggested that I take Sweet Melissa to the hospital where they could do an ultrasound TODAY. My vet agreed and, yesterday, I took my little girl to the hospital where, amongst other things, they shaved her tummy and did an ultrasound.
And, I am so, so very happy to report that no "masses" were seen; that her bowel -- for whatever reason -- is slightly inflamed which is, most likely, causing her diarrhea. The hospital took a "stool sample" (which my vet never did) which was unremarkable; gave her a "general" deworming medication, took blood and sent me and her home with an antibiotic and a "bland" diet. If she does not improve, the next step is a "scoping" of her bowel.
It has been almost a year since Sweet Melissa's yardmate, Calvin, left us to chase rabbits in the sky due to the insidious affects of lymphoma. I'm not ready yet to lose Melissa. She is my constant companion; she is my love ... besides David.
I had to get this post off my chest, so to speak. Sweet Melissa is a beautiful baby, witness the below picture.
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