My puppy Nova's first visit was May 4th. She had signs of a UTI, so I brought her in and had a urinalysis done. This confirmed our suspicions, and Dr. Rao prescribed antibiotics. Her symptoms cleared up. During the visit, the Vet decided to restart Nova's course of vaccines (the breeder had given the first puppy vaccines, and it was safer to restart with the vet). We returned for a vaccine appointment on May 18th with Dr. Elrod, and everything went well.
The Saturday before our next vaccine appointment on May 30th, her symptoms started to come back (frequent attempts to urinate, unable to get more than a few drops out), but this time with vulvar discharge and even more frequent urination. Her urine smelled like fish, and I could tell she was anxious and frustrated with her inability to relieve her bladder - she would squat down 5 times before getting a drop out.
At the appointment, I expressed my concerns, and Dr. Elrod took Nova to perform another urinalysis. Her bladder was too small to collect a sample, so they suggested I bring one in before Nova's next appointment, scheduled for June 13th.
I made several attempts to collect a sample, but she was urinating about every 10 minutes on her puppy pads, making it difficult to catch much.
By Friday June 2nd, I was worried I wouldn't be able to get a sample before it got to be unmanageable. About 20 minutes before they closed, I called in and expressed my concerns to Lin. She told me, "Let me check the visit notes... yep - suggested owner bring in sample. We will be open until 12 tomorrow, so you can bring it in anytime before then." She didn't acknowledge that I had just told her I wasn't able to collect a sample.
Frustrated and feeling dismissed, I thanked her and hung up. Luckily, Saturday morning, I was able to get a sample right after Nova woke up. I brought the sample a couple hours later--around 10am. I was told Dr. Elrod would not be back until Monday, but they would still run the urinalysis.
Concerned with my baby's health, I asked them if she would be okay over the weekend, since she'd already been suffering for a week.
(I don't know if you've ever had a UTI, but I have, and it is insanely painful as soon as the symptoms show up.)
They told me they could call Dr. Elrod and see what she thinks, then give me a call. As I was leaving, one of the ladies said, "Assume no call today means good news."
Knowing my puppy has a UTI, I was hoping for a call.
Fast forward to today, June 5th. I got a call around 12:30pm. Dr. Elrod said Nova has a, "Raging UTI," which I had known for over a week.
Nova cannot speak for herself, so to know she is in pain and had to wait for treatment... it breaks my heart.
I picked up her antibiotics today and asked for a copy of Nova's records.
Needless to say, I will be taking those records and Nova to Tri-State Animal Clinic in Murphy. I know she will get the help she needs--as soon as she needs it--over there. read more