You are my Sunshine

I was throwing hay over the fence when I noticed Sunshine hadn't come forward. She was hanging back. I continued feeding hay and kept an eye on her.
She was one of those mules that just barged in making sure that everyone around got out of her way when it was feeding time.
She isn't aggressive, she just pushes her sister or others with her neck and shoulder to move her or any other mule.
Sometimes Sunshine tries to push little ol' Fred around and Fred won't have it. He lays his ears back and squeals at her. She backs off.

She avoids 15 as she tends to bite and kick.

Sunshine turned her back on the hay and laid down.
Uh oh...
In a moment she got up and walked into the group. She put her muzzle down into the hay but didn't take a bite. She was damp on her sides from laying in the melting snow. I walked around and did a quick check up on her. She didn't seem to be in distress.

I went in the house to set up a computer for Rich so he could do his Speech/Memory Therapy with the VA therapist. We sat down and had coffee and watched Sunshine out the window.
I waited until I connected Rich to his therapist and then explained that I was headed out because we had a 'sick' mule. Sunshine had gotten down and wasn't getting up. I decided to catch her and walk her.
I grabbed my stethoscope and headed out the door.

I got Sunshine out of the pasture and she seemed slightly interested in the grass for a nanosecond. Then she just lifted her head and looked off into the distance.
She wasn't bright eyed and her ears were slightly cool to the touch.
We began to walk.

Down she went.

Have you ever tried to move a mule that simply has decided NOT to move?  Her ears were cold, that worried me.

I finally got her up and took her inside the shed to the large round pen. At least she'd dry off and I could hopefully get her to keep moving.

I pulled my cell phone out of my pocket and asked Google to find Veterinarians in my area. I wanted to call Apple Valley as they knew my mules and had treated Sunshine's mother years ago as well as Siera and Mica.

What came next was what was to become my worst nightmare. They would call me back.
When they did, I was told that the doctors were unavailable, one was on vacation and the other was out with a herd of cattle. They were very sorry could I call around?

I asked Rich to start making phone calls.
And he did.
One Vet said he could come out on Monday.
Another said they were not able to come out until after 5 pm. Rich kept calling...

Sunshine walked a bit and then as if she had turned to rubber, dropped to the floor of the shed.

You can see how she covered herself in dirt and just stayed there. I checked her gut sounds...and

at one point I heard nothing...
and then I heard some faint gurgling.

I kept trying to get her up when she laid flat out. Her heart beat was elevated slightly but she didn't seem to be breathing exceptionally hard. I felt her ears and they were warm again.

I took my fingers and tried a trick I'd done with puppies to make them go poop. I massaged around her rectum. I had no idea if it would work. Either by chance or design, she struggled and stretched and a huge gaseous fart erupted.

Okay. I stood up and cheered.
Sunshine groaned and stretched out again on her side. She shook her legs and I finally got her up.

Rich came out to tell me that a vet was coming from Muscoda and would be here in an hour or so.
Sunshine flopped down again and moaned. I asked Rich to get me some warm soapy water. He prepared that while I prepped a makeshift enema. Epsom salts and warm water. I dabbed a plastic syringe into petroleum jelly and headed back out the door. I soaped up her bum then inserted the plastic syringe and pushed the warm Epsom salt solution into her rectum.
Sunshine didn't even pay attention to me. There was no glow in her eyes. And for a while I thought it was a futile effort.
I couldn't get her up, so I soaped up my hand and reached in. I found dry poop her rectum and carefully pulled it out. Behind that was a nicely formed stool. When I pulled out my messy hand more poop came out. I cleaned my hand and then her bum.
She turned and looked at me.

I got her up again and she walked a bit longer. Then down she went.
A bunch of curse words went through my mind as I knelt by her head.

She closed her eyes and slowly seemed to fall into a deep slumber. I decided to let her rest and not disturb her. After all she may have been up struggling with a belly ache all night and perhaps, just perhaps she was exhausted.

Smart phone. Huh. I typed out a search *How long can a horse sleep on its side safely?* I read through the posts and decided to just let her sleep, if that is what she was doing. Sunshine was not struggling, nor was she breathing hard. She was dry and her ears were warm. I sat next to her head and watched as her eyes closed and her breathing got slower and slower.

I held my breath.
Oh please let this not be her last moments. And then: If it is her last moments, I will be with her.

After about 15 minutes which felt like eternity, Sunshine snorted and rolled up
onto her sternum. Her ears twitched and with her eyes wide open she lunged to her feet and shook.
I was on my feet next to her.
I listened to her sides and heard gut noises.

Sunshine laid down again. I left the round pen discouraged. I needed a quick drink of water and I wanted to see if Rich heard from the vet.

When I came back out to the shed not 5 minutes later, Sunshine was up, ears perked forward and she nickered at me. Be still my little boney heart!

She pawed at the gate. Wow, I thought, what a sudden turn around.

I heard a vehicle coming down the driveway. I figured it was the veterinarian. I greeted her with a huge smile saying, "I think our patient just had a break through! She is standing and alert!"

Doc examined Sunshine and pronounced her out of danger. She got a shot of banamine for the stomach pains and Doc suggested I get some from her to keep on hand. Swift weather changes like we'd been having or food changes were generally suspicious for causing colic in equine.

While we were talking, Sunshine walked over to the bucket I'd brought in to sit on and knocked it over. She was behaving like her normal mule self.

Sunshine...Sunshine...my little red molly mule.

You are more special to me than you know!
[The photo is of me about 19 years ago holding Sunshine in my arms moments after she was born. Cheyanne was my mare.]

I paid the vet and she instructed me on how to use the banamine I'd purchased. Doc gave me some helpful tips on colic which included the very things I'd done.

Doc said she'd rather come to a farm and see her patient recovering than to see something more hopeless. She was all smiles as was I.

I am happy to report that Sunshine is feeling just fine. She became Miss Cranky Pants when she realized that she'd been separated from her friends and suddenly she was starving..and Cranky.

All kidding aside.
I feel very lucky to have Sunshine in my life.

Thank you Dr. Mary from Riverdale Vet Clinic.

Tough weekend

Morris has had some odd behaviors these past few weeks. He has walked into the door before I opened it. He seems lost if I get out of his view and then can't always seem to find me. He seems as though he is quite lost some days. However most of the time if I got out a leash he seemed bright and attentive.
This past week we had record heat and humidity. Morris and I chose to opt out of walking to the bus stop.
We've dealt with all of his funny little mishaps of missing a stair, or growling at plants that he thought shouldn't be there...with a bit of humor. After all. He is aging.

Saturday was one of those normal days except it was supposed to be unbearably hot and humid in our neck of the woods.

I scurried around in the morning before things go too hot and picked cherry tomatoes for our summer salad I planned on making later.

I found a clean one and munched on it while in the garden. They were warm and delicious.
Morris the ever curious old dog came up and tried to eat one. I was sure he wouldn't like it so I bit a small one in pieces and let him smell in on my fingers. He snatched it and gobbled it down.

He then grabbed another split one from the ground and ate it. I shooed him out of the garden and walked back to the house. I wondered if tomatoes bothered dogs.

Well I went inside the house and commenced to making our pasta salad for eating later.

My brother and his son are coming to visit on Tuesday so my mind was on salads, meals, schedules, ...OT on Monday, the VA on Tuesday, ...changing the sheets from my last round of visitors, tidying up the porch, ...
Oh.
I peered at the yard and told Rich that it was too hot to mow. Just leave the yard alone. It didn't need to be picture perfect for my brother.
I think the last time my brother came here, it was 2002. Yes. It was. My brother brought my father for one of the last WI visits.
My dog Xena had just died from either eating coco bean mulch or poison. We never did figure out if she got into a rat that was poisoned or ate the mulch.
Rich had been admitted to the hospital and I'd picked him up just before their arrival.

Around 3pm Morris fell off the couch. I saw it and then saw the stress in his eyes and in his body language. Something was horribly wrong. His back was hunched, his eyes were dull, and he walked with a wobble.

He tried to walk to the door and I let him out. He wobbled off the porch and squatted...squirting me with diarrhea. Oh sh-t. Oh sh-t. No. No!
He finished and wobbled back towards the door. I cleaned up the porch with a little bucket of water and washed my bare feet.

Hmm.
Inside Morris shadowed me as well as he could, he lifted one paw onto my pant leg and stared dull eyed at me while he shuddered.
I picked him up and let him snuggle in my lap.

I started to research his 'symptoms' and wasn't find too much in results. Not until much later did I happen on a site that sort of sounded like what Morris was going through. However this wasn't until after midnight.

Years ago, I bought a veterinarian's stethoscope and learned how to use it. It helped when Badger was so sick and when anything happens to an animal on the farm and the vet comes, I can save them some time with giving them vitals.

Morris's vitals were as follows. Heart rate: Rapid but strong. Within the high normal for him.
Respiration was in the high range when he seemed to have a cramp, but otherwise withing normal range.
Lungs clear. Rectal temperature within the his normal range.

It seemed he had a gastric upset of sorts. He confirmed this by throwing up. I could see chunks of the small tomato in it and then wiped it up. Tomatoes didn't seem to be a huge issue for dogs unless they ate green ones or others in large volumes. He had done neither of those.

Rich was concerned too. Until we went to bed Rich took turns taking Morris out to the bathroom. When it got dark, I put his pet-lite [a small medallion that lights up with an LED light] so I could watch him closer. I followed him around as he peed and did his business.

At 4am, after one of our outtings, Morris drank water. He drank and drank and drank. I made him some chicken broth [thank you upstairs neighbor] with white rice and sprinkled some small pieces of chicken breast on it. Morris smelled it and then picked out the small pieces of chicken.

By 10 am, he had settled in for a long nap on the couch. He slept and slept.

I'd called a few vet offices and being a Sunday I got an answering machine. "Hello, you have reached - name of office - our hours of operation are...."

One office was open and would take emergencies. To walk in the door it would cost $150 and they were 90 minutes away.
Morris was showing improvement so we decided to wait and let him rest.

He did exactly that for the rest of the day. He would get up and walk quietly to the door and stare at you with those soulful eyes.
I fed him the rest of the chicken breast which he skillfully picked out of the rice and took him out.
Afterwards he climbed up on the couch and laid down.

I figured to try and sleep in bed.
About 4am I heard the sound of Morris walking into the bedroom. I cleared my bleary eyes and grabbed my glasses and a flashlight.
I followed Morris around the yard as he seemed to try very hard to defecate. He strained and strained.
I gave him the last of the small bits of the chicken I had and he seemed to want more. He ate some left over cooked burger crumbles and stared at me when I didn't give him any more. I figured until we were able to see our veterinarian, I would err on the side of caution.

After a few more trips outside with nothing but effort, he ambled in slowly and drank some more water. He fell asleep on the floor next to the couch. This morning he won't jump onto the couch.

I have a 12:45 Occupational Therapy appointment and am trying to figure out how to take him to town. Today will be another hot and humid day. No way to leave him in a crate while I do therapy. I'll check with the vet's office and see if we can't work something out.

I feel like I jinxed myself by going through Morris's bucket list. Or perhaps I was neglectful in some way by allowing him to taste the tiny cherry tomato. All I know is that I am sick at heart.
I am not ashamed to admit that I spent most of Saturday night with tears in my eyes.

I rarely cry about anything. I don't cry at funerals. I don't get over emotional when something awful happens. And I didn't get teary eyed during any of Rich's medical emergencies. I've always been known for my steely resolve.
Except when it come to animals. I have no way of keeping my emotions in check.

Updates later.