Jasmine & Quite the Scare

Jasmine woke both me and Jared up Thursday night (or shall I say Friday morning) at 4:00 a.m. making the hacking/dry heaving noise. Whatever it was seemed to really upset her as she was shaking in fear following the incident. Finally, she fell back asleep after successfully cunning her way into bed with us.

That morning, after I showered and got ready for work, Jasmine just didn't seem herself. Typically in the mornings when I put on my shoes, she begins running in circles because she knows she's going outside. Friday morning, she did nothing. She moped to the back door and moped back in.

When I mentioned Jasmine's episode to a coworker, she told me about her Golden Retriever, who had similar symptoms as Jasmine and whose stomach flipped. Had she not immediately rushed her dog to the vet, her dog would have died. I, immediately, began to panic. I called Jared, hysterical. He was working and his firehouse had minimum staffing so he couldn't leave. I couldn't leave right away. I called my vet, and they told me to bring Jasmine in immediately. Part of our concern was that we'd been exercising Jasmine pretty hard lately playing fetch in an effort to shed some unwanted pounds. After researching flipping stomachs, I found that over exertion can be a big factor in the occurence.

Finally, I arrived home from work, and Jasmine was feeling much better. This was great news. In my most recent conversation with one of the vet receptionists, she'd flatly told me that my dog would be dead when I got home if her stomach had flipped. The vet told me that we probably overdid it with Jasmine and that we should tone down her exercise, feed her more ice (rather than treats), cut her food back to facilitate weight loss, and feed her twice a day (rather than one big feeding). Now Jasmine has breakfast and dinner. :)

However, Friday night, Saturday, and Sunday morning she was still doing the crazy hacking and just not being her usual wild self. I am hoping that it is only allergies and the benadryl I am giving her will ease her discomfort. If not, off to the vet we will go.