Riley gave us a good scare :(

Riley had to go to the emergency vet last night.

We were out on a short walk, not even a block away, and he collapsed and was gasping for breath and gurgling. He had pulled on the leash, I guess when he saw water in the ditch (he has an unexplainable fear of water and wet pavement), and when I tured around to see why he wasn't coming, he was on his side in the water. In less than a second he went from fine to that. I picked him up and ran him home and his gums and tongue were white and he continued to gasp and choke and try to breathe.

We had wondered if he had inhaled water in his panic, or if he had a piece of Greenie in his throat or if he had eaten a frog or got bit by a spider. I wondered if he was having a reaction to the flea treatment or heartworm treatment, both of which he'd had just a few days prior.

We ran him to the emergency vet and he took an x-ray and bloodwork. He said that he was deprived of oxygen (and I'm no vet so excuse my butchered version of this) but he said that because a second element of his bloodwork was also elevated, this meant that this was an ongoing thing, not just something that happened that night.

I told the e-vet that my regular vet wants to do Stenotic Nares surgury on him when he is 6 months old, could the stenotic nares be why (he has no nose holes to speak of so he doesn't breathe well) and he said "sure" and sent me on my way, with Riley breathing rapidly and shallowly.

I was scared and upset all night. I got about 2.5 hours of sleep. This morning he was much better but very subdued, and if you know this dog, subdued is a bad sign. But by late morning he was back to his normal rambunctous self though.

So anyway, we took Riley to his own vet as soon as they opened this morning (luckily M had today off) and my own vet said his lungs sounded clear and that there was nothing we could really do for him right now. He's going to send the x-rays to a... I forget the name, a specialist that reads x-rays? specialist for lungs? and he'll let me know what he says.

He also said that yes, this could be from the stenotic nares, but also it could be any combination of four breathing problems that are common in these short-nosed dogs:
* Stenotic Nares
* Elongated Soft Palate
* Everted Laryngical Saccules
* Hypoplastic (small, narrow) Tracheas

All of the above can be read about here:
Click Here for article.
(Thanks to M. for the link.)

He said that Riley could be suffering from 1, all, or any combination of these (although we already know that the Stenotic Nares is an issue). He said to let Riley rest for 7-10 days, NO walks, NO excitement, just rest. And then if it happens again, he'll have the surgeon evaluate him to see if any of the above conditions are present and can be fixed.

I feel upset and worried, and inexplicably guilty, but I know it's nothing I did. I just feel bad. Like no matter what I do I can't protect him.

And let me just say: Emergency Vets are EXPENSIVE! We were already tight on money after the Ireland trip, and now so far this has cost about half a grand and it's not even over yet.

But he's worth it, and we'll get thru it.