It all started on a green patch of lawn a few days ago. Daddy and I were playing like we normally do when suddenly I felt a sharp pain and cried out. Daddy asked me if I was ok and I put on my brave face and carried on. Daddy could see that I wasn’t feeling up to it and said that is enough play for one day.
We went inside and I snuggled next to mommy on the couch. I woke up around suppertime, but wasn’t really hungry. I was still feeling off sorts after our play session earlier so I decided to rather go back to sleep, which was totally not like me.
I slept like a log and only woke the next morning when the birds were busy chirping outside. I immediately wanted to jump up and go chase them like I do every day, but I was too sore. I hoped that nobody would notice, but daddy watched me from the corner of his eye and was taking everything in. Daddy is good with those sorts of things as his work entails noticing all the small details. Daddy is a specialist pet anaesthetist.
When I didn’t want to eat breakfast or lunch, daddy looked at me and said that he would need to take me in to work. I often visit his work for yearly check-ups, vaccinations and dentals so I am not too phased by going.
Once we got to daddy’s work one of the vets examined me. She took my temperature, checked my vitals and asked daddy all about why he brought me in. She touched my legs, stretched my legs and then stretched my back, I couldn’t hide it any longer and I cried.
The Dr chatted to daddy and they decided I would need a CT scan. The Dr then took me to the back in order to admit me to hospital. I somehow just knew this visit was different. All my previous visits were short one day stays, this one I feared would be longer.
The nurse helped the Dr as they shaved my leg in order to place an IV catheter. From past experience I knew how important this was. An IV catheter is your life-line. They hooked my IV up to an infusion pump which ensures that my drip flows at the correct amount of fluid per hour.
I was placed back in my comfortable cage and daddy said his goodbyes. He would see me tomorrow when he came in to work. From my cage I could see the entire hospital. The staff were moving about taking care of patients. From time to time I could see them updating a patient’s vitals on their tablets. I heard daddy telling mommy about this a while ago.
Daddy said they use a computer program to mark off all the patient’s vitals as well as medications given. According to daddy they even use the program during surgical procedures to mark off the medications administered during the procedure as well as charting heart rate, breathing rate etc. I thought this was really impressive, until much to my horror I saw them also marking off when and how you used the bathroom, could some things not be left out due to patient confidentiality?
Watching staff was like counting sheep and I was soon off to dreamland.
The next morning, I heard the hustle and bustle of the hospital and saw that the patients were being served breakfast. The smell of food hung in the air and my tummy growled. I looked at my bowl and found that it was empty. I was a bit irritated that I had not been fed yet and then I remembered daddy telling me they withhold food from patients that receive treatment requiring anaesthetic.
