Today has been a bit of a sad day. I am waiting to find out if we have to put our dog Charlie to sleep. He got sick for about a week about 2 months ago but seemed to spring back from it just fine, then Lady got sick the same way for a couple of days and bounced back, then Charlie got sick again. I decided to bite the bullet and take him in yesterday to see what was going on. I figured they were just getting into something that was giving them bad indigestion or something. But unfortunately the diagnosis wasn’t that good. Charlie’s kidneys were failing. The vet said his numbers were the worst he has ever seen and seemed rather surprised he was still alive. So they kept him there last night and put him on an IV with fluids so they could do more tests and see how bad the damage is. One of the biggest milestones was if Charlie could still pee. They did x-rays and ruled out any blockage or bladder explosion and late last night Charlie peed which is a good sign. So today they are going to push more fluids through his system and see if his kidneys will jump start back at least to the point where he can live somewhat normally on a special low protein diet and medication.

He is not out of the woods yet and him passing away is still a very possible thing right now just depending on what they can find out. They still don’t know what has caused it though. Which I still believe he’s been getting into something he shouldn’t. The first time it happened I had gotten home for lunch and put him on his leash outside when I went to bring him in he didn’t feel good and spent the next few days throwing up all over the kitchen (that’s where we keep the dogs during the daytime while we’re at work) and just seeming miserable. But then one day he was just back to regular old Charlie. Then when Lady got it, it was the same way, I had let her outside and when she came back in she didn’t feel good etc. And same way this time with Charlie again. The Vets have said that it can’t be a weed or pesticide, which I don’t completely believe that those can’t help cause renal failure if he’s subjected to it for longer periods and we don’t know it. He can’t really get into my weed infested flower beds since his leash won’t reach that far and the neighbor’s hedge doesn’t seem to have anything in it either. The other thought I’ve had is we do have mushrooms that grow in the yard sometimes and I found out that those can cause renal failure in dogs much like grapes or raisins. I’m sure we probably won’t ever find out absolutely what caused this and it’s frustrating. I want to be able to keep them out of anything they can get sick from and it’s hard to do if I can’t figure out what it is.

I’ve been a mess since this news yesterday and am trying to cope with the fact of not ever brining Charlie home again. I know there is hope but I don’t want to jinx myself. I always figured we’d have issues with Lady before Charlie since she’s older. Charlie is only 5. The other stress adding to this is the cost of all of this. We qualified for a medical credit card type thing that offers a low monthly payment plan, but it’s still going to be a lot of money we don’t have. But I could not live with myself if I didn’t try for Charlie, if he can still live a good puppy life then he deserves it, but if not I will do what is best for him.

I guess time will tell this week on what will happen, I’m hoping for the best.