Pet Scare: Dealing with an aging dog

Phew!!  Our little pup, Esea gave us a scare.  The last week has felt like time stood still as we had an emergency health scare.
Last Wednesday, my oldest pup Esea was laying on the love seat with me like he does every night and something wasn't right.  My poor boy was suffering from kidney failure and I didn't know it.
After a couple hours of trying to convince myself he was okay, I knew he wasn't.

My poor boy was so lethargic

I called for Simon and off we went to the emergency vet.  Unfortunately, he was mis-diagnosed with a respiratory infection versus kidney failure.  We were sent to a 24-hour pharmacy (we left home about 9:00pm and finally got home after midnight) and hoped he was cured.  The next morning he still showed no improvement so Simon took him to our regular vet.

Within 15-minutes, Simon called me with the terrible news that after blood work, they determined his kidneys were only functioning at about 25% and his outlook was grim.  We are so lucky we have a friend at the vet and she gave us extra updates and gave Esea TLC.

Fast forward the sad six days we went without him and he finally was released home.  We really have no idea what to expect. They had him in ICU with an IV trying to flush his system and did blood work every day to test his progress.  Tuesday night, the vet had the tough talk with me that his time was limited, at best.  We don't know what the days to come will bring but are hopeful for progress and happy to have more time with him.

  

It really is amazing how one little 8-pound pup can rock a household.  We were so sad to have our little guy missing and unsure what the next day would bring.  He is older than all my nieces and nephews and has been around for 14 years.  The other two dogs were so distraught while he was gone.  He is the leader of the three little amigos and the house wasn't the same without him.

I finally made it home! No IV for me. 

After six days of feeling helpless and like time stood still, the clock is ticking again at the Porter house and all is good for now.
If you have a pet, give them an extra little hug today.   Hope y'all are off to a great week!