Hi all,
I wanted to say a HUGE thank you to the lovely people at the THS vet assistance line and to share my experience with other pet sitters.
Last night the 5-month old puppy I am sitting (in the UK) was acting oddly and I just felt something was not right. I took her up on my lap and after a minute she vomited copiously all over the rug I had put out. Then she started shivering and became rather lethargic (for her; she is normally a ball of energy). Well, you know how everything seems worse at night and how pets seem to always get sick on weekends and public holidays…
I telephoned the THS help line and they put me on to the vet line, where I spoke to a veterinary nurse. She was SO helpful and SO calm, I immediately felt supported. I had thought I should handle it myself, but she stressed I should get in touch with the pet parent (in case it was a known “thing”) and she checked that I had the pet’s actual vet details, which I did. After that I spoke to the pet parent who was happy to have me call her regular vet. While all this was going on the puppy actually vomited again and brought up a really big scrap of leather like you might find under a chair (!). So spoke to vet and they advised a wait 30 minutes and come in if she seemed worse.
After 30 minutes of holding her close the shivering stopped and she dropped off to a peaceful sleep. This morning she is back to normal. Phew!
One again, a HUGE thank you to THS for being there on the end of the phone. Although I could have handled it alone, I was so happy not to have to FEEL alone.
As this is a community I am interested in other stories of things that go bluuuurgh! in the night 
-)
What a stressful night! I’m glad the puppy is OK (and hopefully you are now as well 
).
What an ordeal - sounds like you handled it perfectly and yes doesn’t it seem that pets get sick at night and weekends! Good to know about the vetline - I hope I never need it but glad they are there.
Glad the pup vomited up the leather, could have been bad if he wasn’t able to get it up.
Glad the puppy was able to barf up that leather. Poor thing. And glad you were able to get the vet line support. Must’ve been so scary for you. Hugs.
My husband was away one weekend and our dog got stung by a bee, which put him into anaphylactic shock, because he’s allergic. I didn’t know at the time.
He barfed up a hideous mess outdoors before I got him home. Then he turned limp and evacuated his bowels on the floor, which he never normally does.
He was falling into unconsciousness when I rushed him to the vet. I was so worried that he’d die alone in the backseat as I drove and I kept trying to say soothing, reassuring things to him.
Luckily, I’d taken photos of the barf and grabbed the poop in a bag, and the vet was able to quickly figure out what had happened.
I remember carrying our dog’s limp body and trying not to freak out the whole time. So fortunate that the vet was still open. They ended up giving our dog a shot and he seemed mostly recovered by that evening.
That must have been so terrifying!
Huge props to the THS vet line for helping you through this, and you sound like a super duper amazing sitter for how you handled this every step of the way. Pup’s owners are lucky to have you! Rock star!
Thanks for sharing your stressful experience. It’s good to know the THS vet help line was supportive. Glad everything is now ok.