Angie woke me up at 1:30, 3:30, 4-something, a little after 5:00...the times get a little blurry after that...this morning to use the potty outside. After a few trips I was worried about what was wrong with her digestive system so I carried my LED flashlight downstairs with me and spotlighted her butt while she used the bathroom in the darkness of the night.
You should have seen the glare I got from my dog.
Unfortunately, my worst fears were confirmed...Angie had diarrhea...again. Sigh. I waited until this morning to make sure that it wasn't a one-off thing and sure enough around 9:30 she had another...experience. I called the vet and made an appointment for 4:00 this afternoon. I felt like I was overreacting a bit so hastily making an appointment for her, but after she had been so sick a couple weeks ago, I wasn't going to take any chances.
Sure enough, I was correct when she tested "faintly positive" for Giardia, which is kind of like a tummy virus for dogs and cats. I feel absolutely TERRIBLE because this disease is passed through the infected stools of other animals or through infected water. I know that it's just something that happens - animals and humans get sick. I know that my house is clean and so is the yard...but I just feel so guilty. Like I didn't take good enough care of her the first time so now she's sick again.
In my defense, the vet did say that Giardia in the area that I live has the tendency (for whatever reason) to be a little stronger and more resistant to medication. It's not surprising that she has another bout with the illness and now requires stronger doses of the medicine. I'm just hoping that she gets better quick because she is due to stay at my parent's house with the cousins starting a week from tomorrow while we are out of town vacationing in the Bahamas. I would really like to leave town knowing that my darling dog is okay...and not going to get Andy and Annabelle sick.
As we were leaving the store, I felt terrible for little Angie because she had lots of awful tests run on a particularly...sensitive area of her body so I stopped by the toy aisle. Yes, I know that indulging children is bad, but she has chewed through most of her toys and I have had several people tell me that Nylabones are the strongest toys to buy for such skilled chewers like Angie. I bought two different ones and right now she is thoroughly enjoying one...we'll see how long they last. The good news is that the Penicillin shot that she received has already worked as she is much perkier than she was a few hours ago.
But I still feel guilty.
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