Espresso, Charlie, and Gus Update

Bun morning, Everybun!

We're doing well, all things considered.
Charlie hit a rough spot on Thursday with blood detected in her urine spots. It was around ten at night, so there wasn't much we could have done aside from a dose of Metacam.

Our primary v.e.t. is closed on Fridays, and that always makes it a real twist and a kick in the gizzard for my biped.

But she improved substantially by that evening. She became more mobile and active in general. Metacam (an anti-inflammatory), with the regular evening meds, probably helped. 

We wrote up all the gory details in a text message for the v.e.t, called them first thing this morning, and we'll be seeing Dr. Zellner on M*nd*y.

Oh, "What about the rest of the week?" you ask!? We arted a few nights, OK!? The "other - other" rest of the week was just a slurry of expletives, so pick your favorites and consider yourself "informed." If you want, punch yourself in the gizzard a few times, and you've got the whole picture.

We'll keep you posted!
- Gus

The Bunday Evening Thumps

Gus, "Look, look hoomin! I'm flooped with my eyes open. Bwahhhahahaha, get the carrier, right now, hoomin! Run! Git!"

Charlie, "Maybe the paper is acid-free, but it ain't organic, hoomin!"

Gus, "And it ain't no dandelion-hemp either! And I can look a LOT meaner!"

Gus in the small, frozen moments sketchbook.

Bun evening, Everybun!

We're doing well, the weekend feels boring, naps are great, and we couldn't be hoppier. The Sun stayed behind the clouds all weekend, and the cloudscapes were magnificent.

Of course, the biped insists on hanging out with us, and that's always a downer, but we do what we can.

Best of all, Charlie is keeping up with doing bunny things. Come evening time, we do tolerate the meatball a little better. He keeps bribing us with snackables. Apple and willow leaves, a touch of kudzu, a snacker here, crunchy pellets there. It is mostly to keep Charlie eating. Think of me as her official taster. 

And yes, we do charge for acting as the studio forebunns. Putting up with his nonsense, I mean "art," ain't cheap! 

Good night and good luck!
- Gus

P.S.: We realized, after some deliberating, that we need to explain exactly why we stayed put on Friday and did not run to Blue Pearl or VEG when my hoomin found those bloody pee-snots from Charlie. 

First, we gave Charlie 0.6 ml of Metacam (the dosage for her weight). Then we reported it to Dr. Zellner and asked if we needed to come in on Saturday (Avian is closed on Fridays).

We stayed put because:

• We already knew that with Charlie's condition, bloody urine was a possibility
• At the moment, she was already on Orbax to fight the UTI.
• Her appetite was great.
• She was active.
• Did not show any other signs of distress.
• There was a good chance we could see Dr. Zellner on Saturday (the next day) if we had to.
• We already had a tech-doctor appointment set for M*nd*y.
• We wanted to keep Charlie's stress level to a minimum.

Had we gone to any doctor other than Dr. Zellner, we would have added a lot of stress to the situation. Seeing Dr. Teed would involve at least two hours in the car, an exam, maybe bloodwork, and possibly X-rays.

Any emergency vet, unfamiliar with Charlie's medical history, would have insisted on a full workup, plus whatever procedures they believed were required. 

Now, had Charlie been a new bun with us and we had known nothing about her, that would have been an immediate trip to an emergency room.

Are we out of the woods now? No, of course not. Every day feels like a touch-and-go. This first episode of not overreacting felt very, very counterintuitive. Things always feel like a balancing act.

Discharge close up on a pee-pad

The same discharge on a small sample collection sawab close up.

Espresso, Charlie, and Gus Update

Our tiny, repurposed squeeze bottle with hydrogen peroxide.

Areas circled in orange show the traces of foam created when the peroxide hit the spot. On top, the big, light area is sludge itself - parts of that also foamed. Most of the foam dissipated rather quickly, before the meatsack lined up the shot. 

Hellos, Everybunny!

It turns out I may be holding my weight steady. The tech checked my weight after the bladder expression on M*nd*y and it did not show any change. So there!

Once we got home, I got a dose of Metacam, and I was back to my normal self pretty quickly. 

Here's an interesting tidbit if you're ever worried about blood in your urine. Hydrogen Peroxide does a really good job detecting blood in even old pee stains. The meatball filled a small plastic bottle with peroxide and started dropping drops of that on all sorts of stains around my bins. He was like the little Serge A. Storms running around with a home chemistry set.

And - bingo! Just like the doctor said it would, it bubbled like crazy in a few spots. He did some deeper cleaning around the bundos and found some pretty old spots that bubbled. 

Of course, my doctor got a pic and a long text message about it. Then, amazingly enough, we heard back in a short order, and yes, considering my condition, that's not surprising. 

We'll keep you posed!
- Charlie