Sick as a Dog

Sunday night I worked.
Monday morning I took Tybee to day-care.
Monday night I worked.
Tuesday morning Tybee went back to day-care.
...and I went back to work Tuesday night.

Wednesday morning dad greets me in the street with, "Tybee had diarrhea twice and he didn't eat his food, he's all out of sorts this morning..." Trying to brush it off, I thought, "maybe it's just day-care catching up to him, all that activity can give them the runs." But I was quickly corrected when from the kitchen I could hear my puppy preparing a mess for me. It sounded like (and even looked like) it was coming from the bottom of his soul as I grabbed him by the scruff and aimed his muzzle towards the hardwood floor instead of the plush carpet. "Well, there goes my daytime sleeping..." I thought as I now was contemplating if this warranted a visit to the vet. "Welcome to motherhood" my mom sympathetically said.

By 2:00, after another episode of diarrhea  6 hours of just laying around with a pathetic look on our face like, "I've been hit by a Mack truck," a still full bowl of water, and an untouched breakfast, I finally caved and called my vet. Of course when we get in the door, he perks up and turns into his usual vocal self. Their first questions were, "anything unusual that he ate or any missing toys?" I'm sorry..."missing toys?" It was just a funny question to me as they so nonchalantly asked. I think I would have headlined with that if there were any absent squeakers. There really wasn't a definitive diagnosis, I was certain he had just picked something up at daycare no differently than a child would at preschool. A bottle of antibiotics, a tube of goop guaranteed to stop the runs, eye drops, and a subcutaneous fluid injection later, we headed back home to start our recuperation  By this time, I was very thankful I did not have to go back to work that night. Mom asked, "So how much did motherhood cost you?" ..."$128.00"

He still kinda laid around the house like a lethargic fluff ball, even too exhausted to bark as he let out a pathetic "woof" to dad coming in the front door at night. Mom asked if he could be like that all the time. Thank God for peanut butter. The antibiotic pills were not the most appealing things to a dog who normally will eat anything. After this week, I'm pretty convinced my dog loves peanut butter more than life itself. I still think he gets wiped out quicker than usual but for the most part, Tybee is back to his normal, mischievous self. Just a few more extended daytime naps. But to be safe, I think I'll be keeping him home this week.