When we got up this morning, we found Bailey had thrown up overnight in the dining room where he sleeps in his little alcove. He looked and acted like he clearly didn't feel well. His temperature was slightly elevated, at 102.8° (39.3° C). We called our internal medicine specialist in Missoula, Dr. Dave Bostwick, who had seen Bailey a week ago for a leg problem. Dave had us start him on Clavamox and wanted to see him tomorrow, Wednesday, when Alayne was going to be taking blind Goldie in for some minor surgery.
But at lunchtime Bailey didn't look any better, so we took his temperature again — and found it had shot up to 104.7° (40.3° C). Yikes! To skyrocket like that after a few hours on antibiotics was truly alarming. I called Dave again, and a few minutes later I had Bailey in the truck on the way to Missoula.
Here's Dave doing an initial physical exam:
Bailey's temperature was still 104° when we arrived at the clinic, and Dave found bacteria in some fluid he pulled from Bailey's leg (a sac around his hock that recently developed and was the cause of Bailey's previous visit to Dave). But because the sac was fully contained and protected by a thick callus of skin, the question was where the bacteria might have come from.
Before Alayne and I took Bailey's temperature this morning, I had expressed his bladder and noticed his urine smelled, so Dave used his ultrasound to pinpoint Bailey's bladder to get a urine sample:
Dave began culturing the urine sample, and also submitted bloodwork to the lab. We will get the lab results in the morning, but the urine culture will take longer. It's possible that a bladder infection could have worked its way back up into the kidneys and then into his bloodstream … or the bacteria could have started somewhere else entirely. At this point we just don't know.
Meanwhile, Dave started Bailey on a stronger antibiotic and fluids, and I had to leave him at the clinic for the night. Before I left, though, I filled his cage with a big, fleece blanket from the truck so he'd have plenty to burrow under. And he will be very happy to see Alayne in the morning!
But the whole time I was there this afternoon, this was the look I was getting … the "Dad, why are we here?" look:
—
Amazing — now we're No. 1!
Please keep voting for us every
day in The Animal Rescue
Site/PetFinder's Shelter Challenge.
Thanks
to your votes, we came in third nationwide and won $3,000 for the
animals in the previous contest. Now we have a shot at No. 1 and the
$20,000 grand prize! Enter
"Rolling Dog Ranch" and our state postal code, MT for Montana,
and it will bring up our listing so you can cast your vote. Please ask
your family and friends to vote, too. Thank you!
Rolling Dog Farm Blog 
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