A Scare

Today the boys had a play date with their best bud Guinness. Right before we got into the car to head to the park, Wil came back from taking the pups out to the bathroom and had this "Mama is not going to take this well" look on his face. Brutus, who had been having a black diarrhea, was now having a bloody diarrhea. Sorry if this is way too much info for some but it's kind of necessary to tell the story. Last night was one of the rare occasions that I was feeling like my old self and had enough energy to go to our friend Marra and Steve's cookout and even sat next to a grill! We brought the boys out to the shindig after everybody got done eating to hang with their friends Samson and Patches. By the time they both came out, it was almost pitch black outside even though it was still rather early as Fall was already upon us. The boys behaved (?), played, fetched, and generally had a good time. Brutus woke me up early this morning, something he only does when he REALLY has to use the bathroom. I took both the pups out in my pj's and glasses and for a second really thought I was still having some strange dreams when Brutus produced a pile of black sludge for me to pick up. I wasn't immediately in a panic mode because I then realized that Brutus was having the most fun out of all of us at the cookout in the cover of the night. See, my lovely boy loves to eat charcoals. I guess the dripping off of the grill really seals in the flavor just right. People always dump out their old charcoals around where we were grilling out, so Brutus allegedly had himself a buffet. He cleaned his plate at breakfast, which included some rice to settle his stomach, and was his happy ham self. I left to go to work and Wil picked me up afterwards to go to the play date. And that's where we picked up this rather lengthy story. We went to the play date anyway despite a small speck of blood that we saw, because Brutus wasn't showing any signs of sickness. If anything, he was a picture of health, prancing around knowing that he was going for a ride. So we went to the park to see our friends. The boys were never happier to see Guinness, but we had to jet back home after about the forth time Brutus tried to use the bathroom and was able to produce ONLY blood with some water. We called our friends asking for some info on German emergency vet. On-post vet doesn't treat emergency cases, which is no surprise as they barely take normal cases. We drove to Landstuhl, found the cheery building, and waited for the vet to arrive. By the time I got out of the car, which had been traveling at 120 miles/hour, I was the one needing a doctor. Brutus was having the best time of his life on his personal day with mom and dad and was probably plotting in his head to eat more charcoals to get a day trip away from Paddy. Looking back, it wouldn't hurt for him to look slightly somber and not prance around the front lawn as he was pooping blood. Anyway, he saw his vet, whom looked like a Brunette Heidi Klum to me. I don't remember much of her face because I believe her legs stop about my shoulder height. She was uber efficient, professional, and more kind to us than my emergency doctor was. Brutus got 2 shots in the butt and some meds to take home, and she assured me that he was fine. We suspected that charcoals were just at the tip of the ice berg that was his stomach. God only knows what else he picked up off the ground and swallowed it whole. Well, I guess not only God, since I'll be picking up after him. I just woke up to get a glass of water and checked on the boys. All I heard was sleepy snoring sounds, and most of that was probably from Wil. Everybody is fine and resting comfortably. Wil is slowly getting over his cold and I'm slowly getting better with pregnancy stuff. I have a small bump that only Wil and I notice and nothing is better than when he touches my stomach with a knowing smile. Soon enough this stomach will become a public stomach and we won't have a secret to share. Last but never least, I must mention our great friends here. Our friend Shawn, dad to Guinness, called his wife Ashley, who's visiting friends and fams back in the States, and got a long list of emergency vets for us. My friends Ariel and Sharon were pacing the video store when they heard about Brutus and helped us with direction. My dreadful reception to the community is now the thing of the past, as we are surrounded by truly wonderful and kind friends. Life is good again!