Today has been so, so good.

Today has been so, so good. I can't even express how relieved we are to have answers to what is wrong with Oreo (see previous post if you missed it).

I was holding back tears when the vets gave me the news. We know what is wrong and it can be fixed. No more watching this boy yo-yo between good days and bad days. No more seeing him act so hungry and then throw up what he ate. No more stretching his tummy because it hurts so much. No more rumbling gut and smacking lips due to nausea. No more thinking that it's all happening because you fed him the wrong thing. The only other person who knows any of this better than I do is Aunt Taimi and she's tough as nails for enduring it with him for the past month - and for somehow getting him to a healthier state while all of this was going on. I will never be able to thank her enough for how she cared for this boy.

I know we have to get through the surgery, but when I tell you I was giddy this morning... I was on Cloud 9. I made 2 wrong turns trying to take us home and I damn well knew where I was; our vet is less than 15 minutes away from our house. I have been messing up my words and bouncing off the walls. One of my current biggest fears was that we wouldn't figure this out anytime soon, and then poof - it was gone! A weight was lifted. I feel like I am only just now starting to calm down from the news.

I have turned in the paperwork to the surgeon's office and I'll let y'all know how things go tomorrow as soon as I know something. ❤️❤️❤️

I literally had to hold back tears at the vet's office.

I literally had to hold back tears at the vet's office. We finally have some answers! Oreo has an obstruction of the duodenum, which is the first part of the small intestine immediately beyond the stomach.

This explains so, SO much. His stomach is huge and inflamed, which is obviously painful and explains the "bowing" posture he does many times throughout the day. Very little of anything he eats is getting through to his intestines, which is why he is constantly throwing up / regurgitating his food and water - it literally can't go through. It also explains why he is so thin. There are no problems with his intestines or bowels which is why his poops look normal.

The vets he saw today wasted no time in taking labs and comparing them to past labs and ruling things out to find the answer. They said that he is healthy (besides the heartworms) and despite the challenges he's faced since I picked him up the labs show he is healthier than before (thanks in large part to Aunt Taimi). They feel that he is in a good position to undergo surgery, so he is going in tomorrow morning at 9 am. Both vets feel optimistic that this will be life-changing for Oreo.

Today's vet visit was $850 and surgery + a short hospital stay will be $3000-$5000. I'm sharing his GoFundMe again and if you feel compelled to donate or share then it would be much appreciated. He's officially our dog as far as we're concerned, so we are prepared to foot this bill. But I know so many people have been rooting for this sweet boy and want to help him and hopefully this will be one of the last chances to do so.

I will let you all know how things go tomorrow! ❤️

https://www.gofundme.com/f/bjs7z-oreos-recovery

I have some big news...

I have some big news that I will share as soon as I get it typed up and making sense.

For now, look at this boy. He's glad to be home from the vet.

We're tucked for the night. ❤️

We're tucked for the night. ❤️

Not even Cub will snuggle Balthazar. This is pretty sweet. 😍

This story is unrelated to this photo of Harley in my storage cube.

OMG. This story is unrelated to this photo of Harley in my storage cube. I just thought the cat was cute. 😂

Cubba wants to play with Oreo so, SO much. The dogs just came in from outside and Cub has ENERGY. Cub started squealing at Oreo like "Let's play!" and Oreo... Burped in Cub's face. 😂😂😂

The look on Cub's face was one of confusion and disbelief. 😂😂😂 He went away to behind the couch to sulk - he's literally not even laying with us. He's so excited to have a doggy friend here, but so sad that his new friend isn't up for playing. He does NOT understand.

Patience, buddy. We're working on it.

Today has been ok for Oreo. Long update ahead.

Today has been ok for Oreo. Long update ahead.

He's doing fine with the cats. He can use the doggie doors already.

He and Cub are getting along, although Cub can definitely tell the difference between dogs and vehicles on the TV and Oreo can't. Oreo barks at sudden noises, unexpected people, dogs barking, and cars coming and going. Even if he's dead asleep he'll wake up barking. When we were driving home yesterday and he was asleep in the backseat I made a noise with a bag and he woke up barking so loud that I jumped. 😂 I assume that's just a bit of self-defense from living on the streets.

Pictured is Cub's "What the hell is he barking at?" face. 😂😂😂

It's also funny to watch them go outside and have "peeing contests." They just go back and forth peeing on the same thing the other one just peed on. Goofy boys. 😂

The only trouble we've had is that he's marked in the house twice. We have carpet shampooers, though, so it's no big deal. We've corrected him both times it happened and he stopped, so maybe he's learning the rules.

He also regurgitated on the couch after a relatively good day regarding food and water. I say "regurgitated" because it was mostly water and he wasn't heaving or anything - it just came out. Again, it's fine. We have a hand-held steam cleaner and keep the furniture covered in sheets because we like animals and value their comfort.

I feel thankful that he's holding steady and not acting like he's about to die. I hate to admit how nervous I've been about taking over his care again. It was just so scary when I had him the first time; I was trying everything I knew and all of the vet recommendations and nothing was working. But so far it's going well.

Aunt Taimi brought up that she isn't sure about him having EPI and after some research I'm with her on that. The enzymes he's been on haven't helped anything, for one. He also doesn't have the typical diarrhea that accompanies that. If the vet wants to test for that on Tuesday then they can. I don't care. I just want answers and the more things we rule out the closer we get.

Other than that the only thing I can report is that Oreo is a lovey boy. He likes to lay near you and snuggle. He will climb over anyone / anything to get to you when it's snuggle time. Sometimes he also wants "hugs" which is where he puts his face in your face and we mash our cheeks together and I give him kisses. I think he eats up all of the loving.

He likes Shaun and Shaun likes him, too. But Shaun said he's scared to get attached. He says that Oreo seems so unhealthy that he's worried he won't live. I understand, but that just made me love him harder because it felt like he needed it. But hopefully we'll get him turned around and Shaun can stop being afraid to love him. That's the plan, anyway. ❤️

He's mashed against my legs.

He's mashed against my legs. His tummy is noisy and he's farting some stinky smells. I gave him some Pepto. Hopefully it will settle his tummy a bit. He refused dinner earlier. Maybe he'll be up for it in a bit.

His vet appointment on Tuesday can't get here fast enough.