The Agony of Knowing when to Try and when to Let Go

My vet, Dr Echols, had the Parrish Creek clinic secretary call me this morning. A bearded dragon was brought in for an appointment this morning in very bad shape. The owners were willing to surrender it, but I was willing to try to save him?

I drove over to the vet after quickly getting ready to go. Honestly, the whole time I drove, I prayed that I would know what to do-- to try or to let go. I prayed to know if the beardie had what it took to make it or if the kindest thing would be to let him go.

Lobo was in BAD shape. It broke my heart to look at him.

I did my basic "life check" tests on him. I gently turned him over on his back, I offered him water, I felt his belly. He didn't like me messing with his plugged femoral pores or trying to pry his mouth open. His bursts of spunk reassured me that he wasn't all the way dead. 

I had a quick consultation with Dr Echols and we decided I'd try through the weekend. Yes, Lobo was bad, but there were some signs of movement. The big unknown factor, as always, is his kidneys. Have they shut down? Are they still working? The stress of drawing blood would have been too much for him so we had to move forward without that information.

I warmed up my corn bag and got Lobo ready to transport home. Once he was in my carrier, I noticed he did not look even a tiny bit lifelike. I pulled him back out and gently flipped him over (the easiest way to check for death). Lobo did not move. His head flipped back and he lay unresponsive. One of techs put the doppler probe on him and we detected a heart beat still. That was when Lobo decided to move himself upright.

Crystal, one of my favorite techs, gave Lobo a saline shot and we put him back into a warmed up brooder. The stress of taking him home surely would have killed him. We decided to leave him to sleep in the brooder until later this afternoon. That would give his body time to assimilate the saline injected directly into his abdominal cavity.

I don't expect to find Lobo alive when I return at 2. I think he made it fairly clear that he is ready to be done with life. :( He is yet another example of "Too Little, Too Late." Poor diet, inadequate care, no handling, no UVB, zero research on care-- I don't know if it even matters if one of these reasons is how he got this bad. There are always lots of reasons & justifications. In the end, it usually results in a death.

Pets MUST be a DAILY thing. Daily checking on a pet helps you learn what behavior is and is not normal. Check the temperatures. Check for poop (or lack of poop). Check for movement. Check for alertness and movement. Check for clean water in the cage. Check. Check. Check.

I can't tell you how many times I've heard "He/she/it was fine last week."

Um, no.

This level of neglect does NOT happen overnight. EVER. But if you aren't checking daily, you are missing the subtle ways your animal -- especially your reptile-- is trying to communicate with you.

Through his eyes, through his movements, through his poop, through his aggression, through his coloring, through his sleeping position-- your pet is trying to communicate!

Are you listening??