Dogs are Expensive

Well, I'm on winter break right now so I have some spare time to blog. Sorry that it has been so long Gram Cracker!!

We have been a busy Henderson clan adventuring when we can. Hey, that rhymes!

Skiing, working, traveling, more skiing, more working etc. The traveling was just to my mom's in Ridgway. We went the week leading up to Christmas and we were able to ski at Telluride. It was a super fun day spent with Ferdinand! We also relaxed a lot at her house. We needed it!

Ok, now to get to the expensive dog part. Sadie has been getting a UTI every 6-8 weeks for the past 6 months or so. Some of these UTI's are tough for us because she feels like she needs to go potty all the time when really she doesn't, even in the middle of the night. One time she cried out in pain while going potty. So hard to watch. Luckily, the vet is Ferdinand's good friend and sometimes he just prescribes us antibiotics instead of charging for the vet visit and exam as well. She has also been doing what we call 'leaking' every other month or so. Leaking is where she is asleep and leaks out fluid and when she gets up there is a huge wet spot. It doesn't smell and it is clear. Unfortunately, it usually happens on our bed or on the couch. (I know, maybe we shouldn't let her on the bed or couch - oh well, we do and we are totally fine with it) Usually she leaks and about 2 weeks later she has a UTI. So, the combination of the UTI's and the leaking had us concerned.

Yesterday, while we were in the mountains, Sadie had blood in her urine (easy to see when she pees in snow). We knew it was another UTI and it was more severe. We took her to the vet last night to get the antibiotics and to discuss our options for diagnosis and treatment. The vet believes that she has a structural problem with her insides. That is not exactly what he called it, but basically! She has a problem with the design of her bladder, vagina and possibly an extra reservoir (which is where the leaking comes from). They think that the extra reservoir is where the bacteria is forming which is creating the UTI's.

Next Tuesday she will go back to the vet to have a pelvic exam and an ultra sound to figure out what is going on. Once we have a diagnosis we will be able to discuss treatment options which may require some sort of procedure or surgery.

Oh, and while we where there we had him (the vet) look at a gash on her face that occurred while she was at doggie day care on Tuesday. He believes she got her face caught on something and pulled free. We have no idea what happened. He cleaned the deep wound and luckily she is already on antibiotics for her UTI so that the gash won't get infected. Here is a picture of it. She looks so funny with part of her face shaved.