If you guessed Doggy Bladder surgery, you are right. You don’t get a prize though, because we’re spending all our money on the aforementioned surgery.

Rigby has been just miserable for a few weeks now. Last week, the vet did an ultrasound and determined that she had stones and crystals in her bladder. We had to drop off a urine sample this week, and when the results from that came back the vet’s office called us to schedule an x-ray and blood test right away. So off we went, and we also brought along one of the stones Rigby had passed.


That would hurt if it came out of ME. Poor Rigs.

The vet took Rigby back for her x-ray and I fretted about her being scared. Luckily it was a quick picture and blood draw and then she was back in our arms. A few minutes later the vet called us back and showed us her x-ray.

SCAN0026

So I’m like, sweeeeet, dog skeleton! And then he shows us a zoomed-in version of the x-ray.

Those are GIGANTIC stones in her bladder. Gigantic stones that can only come out one way – through surgery. We talked the whole thing out with the vet, and he showed us some example stones that he’d pulled out of other dogs (GAG) so we could get a good idea of the size of the stones inside Rigby. We’re talking the size of malted milk balls and candy corn…annnnnd now no one wants any candy.

It’s a bummer for poor Rigby. She’ll need the surgery right away. The vet’s office is going to call today around noon with her blood test results, and assuming everything is OK she could even get in for the surgery a few hours later. She’ll have to stay in the animal hospital for a few nights, which makes me sad – she’s my buddy and protector, and I hate to think of her scared, hurting, and alone. Oh, and did I mention today is Rigby’s fifth birthday? Bladder surgery isn’t a great present, even if it will make her feel better.

So, it’s not the most ideal 35th (in dog years) birthday for poor Rigby. But hopefully the surgery will insure that she won’t spend her 42nd (in dog years) birthday in a diaper.


it ain’t dignified!