Last Monday we went to the reproductive vet for a routine, post-no-puppy check-up to make sure that SeQueL’s body was returning to normal.
Unfortunately, it was not.
Instead, her uterus is irritated and producing mucus. This happens, and the doctors don’t yet understand the underlying cause. SeQueL doesn’t feel bad, but the condition will not resolve itself, and, untreated, it will eventually become life-threatening.
There are two treatment alternatives:
- Spaying
- Treatment with a prostaglandin drug twice a day for 7 or so days to calm the uterus. With this approach, the doctor says, about half the patients are able to have litters.
The drugs make the dog sick for about a half-hour after injection. They must be administered at the vet’s office, because anaphylactic shock has occurred a few times.
Because the reproductive vet is in the East Bay, this regimen means that SeQueL will have to be an in-patient.
If SeQueL is spayed, in addition to not having puppies, she will not be able to show at AKC dog shows. She likes being in the ring, and in our minds we had planned a leisurely post-Champion show career for her. And, puppies with her personality would be excellent.
After consulting with SeQueL’s breeder, her potential Baby Daddy’s owner, and our regular vet, we have decided to start the drug treatments for her tomorrow. Saturday, we will bring her to the vet at 8 am, get the shot, wait for her to recover, and bring her home. We’ll do the same thing at 4 pm. We will have her with us tomorrow night, because the weekend traffic and our schedules will let us do the commute. Then on Sunday, we’ll bring her to the vet in the morning, and probably leave her for the next 6 days. The vets say the separation will be easier on her than on us. I hope so.
So, that’s the plan.