We
made arrangements with our intern to allow us to take Kirby and all his
"bells and whistles" i.e. IVs and catheter bags to a private waiting
room off the ICU unit so we could hold him and spend a little more time
with him. When he first came in he was very lethargic but he snuggled
up between us where he was touching both of us. He stayed in that
position for a while and we decided to try and untangle the tubing and
lay him down. HE decided he needed to sit up and when I would stop
rubbing his head, he would take his paw and tell me to continue. That
was just what we wanted to see. He was obviously not feeling well but
so happy to have his people with him. We had talked to our vet intern
this morning about whether he had barked any when they went out for
their short walk in the back and he said "no". After we all lay down on
the floor (we brought the big blanket that we cover the bed with and
the dogs lay on and Kirby went straight to sniff the Kasidy and Kada-Joy
scents) and a pillow and all got into our regular bed configuration.
When they came in to check on his IV and the door opened, he sat
straight up and barked full force. Music to our ears. Every time the
door opened into our "house" he barked and did his alpha dog routine.
So cool!
We stayed and watched him eat his new kidney diet dog food which Bayard said he hand fed because Kirby gobbled it up in one bite! Yep, Bayard. You are a quick study and we love that.
The good news is that the third blood test after two days of IV therapy shows another 20% decrease in the significant kidney values but the bad news is the liver numbers are not improving. We didn't even know we had problems with the liver but it's not surprising. The vet is going to call us tonight in addition to Bayard, our student intern. Sunday we will go back after church to visit. Monday Kirby will go to the ophthalmologist for the SARDS testing. Probably, they will have to do some more testing for liver function. I don't know what or if anything can be done.
He is improving and we are so thankful. It was so good to get to be with him for a longer period of time to love on him. We are happy our vet is calling tonight but kind of concerned also since she doesn't usually call. We will get a new intern on Monday. We are sorry to see Bayard go because he was so good with Kirby and Kirby has gotten accustomed to have him as his surrogate parent. I'm sure the next student will be wonderful, too.
Bayard said Kirby whined yesterday after we left. That made us decide to try and leave before he was to go our for a walk so maybe it would be less stressful. He knows the words "bye-bye" and I know he has figured out that we are coming at the same hour intervals because he has a built in clock for things like that.
Keep praying. We are exhausted but still hopeful. Regardless, we are in this for the long run for whatever is best for our Kirby. In the pictures below, you can see what I was trying to explain about Kirby's comfort position on my shoulder like when he was a three pound puppy.
We stayed and watched him eat his new kidney diet dog food which Bayard said he hand fed because Kirby gobbled it up in one bite! Yep, Bayard. You are a quick study and we love that.
The good news is that the third blood test after two days of IV therapy shows another 20% decrease in the significant kidney values but the bad news is the liver numbers are not improving. We didn't even know we had problems with the liver but it's not surprising. The vet is going to call us tonight in addition to Bayard, our student intern. Sunday we will go back after church to visit. Monday Kirby will go to the ophthalmologist for the SARDS testing. Probably, they will have to do some more testing for liver function. I don't know what or if anything can be done.
He is improving and we are so thankful. It was so good to get to be with him for a longer period of time to love on him. We are happy our vet is calling tonight but kind of concerned also since she doesn't usually call. We will get a new intern on Monday. We are sorry to see Bayard go because he was so good with Kirby and Kirby has gotten accustomed to have him as his surrogate parent. I'm sure the next student will be wonderful, too.
Bayard said Kirby whined yesterday after we left. That made us decide to try and leave before he was to go our for a walk so maybe it would be less stressful. He knows the words "bye-bye" and I know he has figured out that we are coming at the same hour intervals because he has a built in clock for things like that.
Keep praying. We are exhausted but still hopeful. Regardless, we are in this for the long run for whatever is best for our Kirby. In the pictures below, you can see what I was trying to explain about Kirby's comfort position on my shoulder like when he was a three pound puppy.
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