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Monday, October 05, 2009

One of the stories from the move was a sad one - and one that left me shocked and still, to this day, very annoyed.

My pug, Mr. Wiggles is a character - of that there is no doubt.  He does tend to be very hyper and "wiggly" when he sees people initially but that's just how he is. 

When I left for Philly, I asked for sedatives for both him and Shadow as it would be a long drive and I wanted them to be calm.  Shadow had been sedated for her flight to Florida so I didn't think much of it.

The day of the move, we waited until about half an hour before we left to give the pets their meds.  Shadow was prescribed a 1/4 of a 10 mg. tablet of Acepromazine.  Wiggy was prescribed a full 25 mg. tablet of Acepromazine.  Shadow took her tablet with little incident.  However, Wiggy spit his out twice.  Finally, with the bribe of cheese, he took it and my dad took him for his last walk.  I was told it would take 30 minutes for it to take effect.  Well, within minutes, Wiggy promptly convulsed, lost control of bodily function and basically collapsed and couldn't walk. 

WHAT THE @*#@*@*@?!?!  I called the Altamonte Animal Hospital only be told I could "drop him off".  Listen here dummy - I'm leaving to MOVE TO PHILADELPHIA TODAY and you want me to DROP HIM OFF?!?!?  ARE YOU NUCKIN' FUTZ?!?!?!  Not to mention, after this incident I didn't trust them with a pen, let alone my dog.  She told me that it was my option to leave with him sick but I really should just "drop him off."  I about lost my mind.

As I sat with Wiggy, I started googling results of Acepromazine with pugs.  He kept lookin' at me with the saddest eyes and would try to walk but couldn't move his back legs.  Thankfully, he threw up the pill and still would go in and out of sleep.

I texted Rifleman asking him for a vet suggestion in Philly.  If they told me to bring him back to the Altamonte vet, I would - but I was far from pleased.  He came back immediately with the spot he takes his dog to - Wissahickon Animal Hospital which is right near the new apartment. 

Thankfully, Jen from the Wissahickon Animal Hospital talked me off of a ledge, got me calm and told me that he should be fine, especially if he threw up the pill.  That was the first step.  Secondly, she said that apparently he had a reaction to it but interestingly enough, the vet prescribed him 25 mg. for a 20 lb. dog.  That was enough to sedate a 100 lb. dog.  Some vets prescribe 1 mg. per pound but considering that they did one quarter of a 10 mg. tablet for my 12 lb. cat, shouldn't they have done the same for my DOG?  Jen made an appointment for me to bring in Wiggy after the move and told me it was safe to leave in an hour or so just to keep an eye on him and call if there were any problems.  During my phone convo, Wiggy woke up and haltingly started walking over to my dad for comfort.  That was the best sign ever!

I tossed their pills in the bag, vowing to never use them again.  During the drive, Wiggy had a couple seizures but would quickly snap out of it.  Can I tell you the immense amount of guilt I had for even sedating the little guy in the first place???

While I was driving through Georgia, my cell phone rang and on the other line was the Altamonte Animal Clinic's office manager wanting to talk about the incident.  I didn't hold my tongue at all - they overdosed my DOG!  We went back and forth a bit but she told me that the Vet was at liberty to prescribe a 25 mg. dose for Wiggy since it was his prerogative and Wiggy was so hyper.  While I understand that, I felt I should have been consulted first as I would have to drive with him and he had never been sedated with that before.  As his parent/owner, in the end, I didn't see how they could prescribe only a quarter of a 10mg. tablet for my 12 lb. cat yet a FULL 25 mg. tablet for my 20 lb. pug.  Plus - while they only see the hyper "initial" side of him, they don't see the quasi-calm guy I live with when the excitement of seeing people is over.

It is what is is and thankfully Wiggy was okay during his checkup with Dr. Jacobs at the Wissahickon Animal Hospital and absolutely adores everyone there.  HOWEVER, after this drama with Altamonte Animal Clinic and Dr. Hart, I could never recommend Altamonte Animal Hospital again.  This one lapse of judgement on their part could have taken him away permanently.  And being told to "Drop him off" like he was a rejected piece of luggage, that was just poor taste on their part.

Labels: Guilty of Idiocy, Moving In Stilettos, Mr. Wiggles

Posted by Lys :: 1:15 PM :: 5 comments

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