My aunt and uncle have a goofy, little (relatively) Rottwieler puppy named Max, who has been sick for the last few days. He threw up once every hour for more than 24 hours straight, poor guy. By this morning he was so dehydrated that he could hardly move.
The local vet came this morning to give him an emergency IV because without one, Max probably would have died. Actually a large animal vet, the doctor luckily knew enough about treating dogs to diagnose a type of viral infection that should clear up in about 5 days. The vet told us that he'd spent most of yesterday doing a post mortem on a horse in a nearby village.
Max got his IV outside between the cottage and the house under a peach tree on the kitchen table (covered with plastic). He was hooked up to two drips, saline and electrolytes that are still hanging from the tree outside. He will probably need another IV or two in the next few days.
Max, a very strong 10 month-old, was too weak to protest when we tied a rope around his mouth for a muzzle, rolled him onto an old blanket and put him on the table. He barely twitched when the vet struggled to find a vein. Throughout the half hour that he was hooked to the IV he barely opened his eyes. The vet was assisted by his driver, whom he'd used for five years, and who now acts as a self-taught assistant. The driver held Max's leg, the one with the IV, and let the doctor know when Max had gotten the specified amount of fluid. That driver has a pretty sweet gig, he has a regular customer AND he gets to assist with all kinds of vet work, from horse autopsies to dog IVs.
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