It actually looks more threatening than it was on that particular morning.
So anyway, yesterday we got down to Front Street on the water and I threw the ball for Ella. If I haven't mentioned that, I usually take a ball and when we get down to the water, we stop by one of the businesses there - a company selling bait to fishermen. They have a big open grassy area on the north side of their building and somewhat smaller grassy area on the south side. The south side has a small (2-1/2 foot) concrete wall between the grass and the street, and I like that because I feel Ella is less likely to be distracted by squirrels or dogs and run into the street. But the north side is bigger with more room for throwing the ball. So we stopped and I threw the ball for her on the north side. Because it was the weekend, I thought we could have a longer walk, so we went down by the shipyard and Pro-Steel fabrication shop - which are directly on the water.
From there we've discovered a very short path through some skimpy woods to the beach. If the tide is low, or lowering, I can throw the ball on the beach for Ella and she can run around there, sniffy seaweed and other interesting things. So we went there.
I'm not sure what she ate, but while I turned my back, looking for the ball she hadn't brought back, she must have eaten something or at least licked something ... very very icky.
A few minutes later, as we left, she got that glassy look in her eyes, her gait stiffened and slowed, and she threw up. Nothing terribly unusual in that. It's my guess that because Ella lived on the streets of St. Louis for at least weeks if not months before her rescue, she is a creature who wants to lick and if possible eat anything organic that isn't tied down. It's probably one reason she has such a sensitive stomach. Anyway, I wasn't terribly worried by her throwing up. A few moments later she threw up a second time. Again, not that unusual. But then she just stopped. She didn't want to walk up the steep incline from the street that leads to the beach back to the main street. I had to more or less drag her. I got her back to the main street and we crossed it to a local restaurant called Hole in the Wall. There she threw herself down on the grass in front, stretched all the way out, head down. She didn't want to move. She didn't lift her head, her tail didn't twitch, her ears didn't perk when I spoke to her. A very sick puppy.
I finally got her to get up. She slowly walked up to Cedar Street, from which it is about a 1/3 mile walk back to our house, mostly uphill. With constant encouragement she made it about a block, and threw herself down right on the pavement of the street. I was freaking out. I left her lying in the street and knocked on the door of the house we were near. I hadn't brought my phone but I thought if someone would let me use their phone I would call my neighbor, Melissa, who along with her son Tobias, loves Ella almost as much as David and I do. There was no answer to my knocking on the door.
With constant encouragement, I got Ella to get up and we went about another block. She lay down again, but I got her to do so on the grass. A woman came by, someone we've often seen on her morning walk while we were on our own. She stopped and asked what was wrong. While we were talking, a cab pulled up at a nearby house, picking someone up to take them to work. The woman offered to ask the cab to take us home. Which the cab driver did, with the agreement of the passenger.
At home, I called the emergency vet and left a call back request. I then called Melissa - she's a nurse - and asked her to come over. Meanwhile, once again Ella flopped down on the floor. Same thing - head down on the floor, no ear or tail twitch or other sign of life - except she still breathed. I was sure that somehow Ella had eaten poison and was dying right there, right then, in front of me.
Finally the vet called back - Dr. Lee, Ella's own vet who happened to be on call. He immediately made me feel somewhat better. He said there was no poison he knew of that could act so fast. He told me to give her water, no food for a while, watch her, let her rest. If she showed signs of distress - panting even while resting, or a swollen belly - to call him back, but he thought she would be okay.
But when Melissa came, then I REALLY felt better. For the first time since she threw up the first time, Ella got up on on her own and went to the door to greet Melissa. (Ella loves Melissa and Tobias almost as much as she loves David and me.) She came back and lay down again, but this time by the couch where Meliss and I sat. The fact that Ella got up on her own to greet Melissa finally made me believe that she would be okay.
I rearranged my day and stayed home with Ella, leaving only later in the afternoon when I was sure she was okay - after she started playing with her ball (which she likes to "bury" in her "rug" by putting the ball on her little rug, and then scrunching up the rug around it so the ball is hidden, and then she "finds" it again). She also was clearly hungry, and in the early afternoon I gave her some cooked rice that I had in the fridge. She ate it with no problem. By the evening she was totally fine, back to normal.
It was one of the hardest days I recall in a while. To see your usually active, playful, happy, healthy, curious, outgoing, loving dog lay down in the middle of the street and not only not be willing or able to walk another 10 feelt, but also fail to respond to you - I really thought she was going to die.
But Ella's okay. So I'm okay. We had our walk this morning. No ball. No beach. I tried to keep a close eye to make sure she didn't eat anything untoward. She had breakfast. And now she's curled in a ball, sleeping.
I am grateful. To the woman who stopped to help. To the cab driver and his passenger who brought us home. To Melissa who came immediately when I called her. To Dr. Lee and PenBay Vet's 24-hour hot line. To Ella, for coming back to us.
Peace and brighter skies.
