Rock Gut

Ralphie is a black and white, 4 year old, neutered, springer spaniel...with entropian. He's a jovial lad. Bouncing around as springers do. It always makes me wonder if that's how they came up with the name.
Ralphie has a problem, he likes to eat rocks.

Ralphie has gone under the knife FOUR TIMES to remove rocks and he has been admitted into the hospital numerous times after his mineral meals and has passed rocks.

Ralphie's days are numbered, his owners are going broke paying for the surgeries and hospital visits.

I saw Ralphie for the first time last Thursday. The vet had a syringeful of the lethal injection and we were emptying his bladder, as I listened to the legacy that was Ralphie. He was on the green mile and his owners were waiting for him so that they could say good-bye.

Ralphie had two egg sized rocks in his belly. Would they pass? We don't know, but the owners are done with surgery so their only option is to euthanize before the rocks cause a blockage and Ralphie suffers a terrible death. Nobody wants to do this, especially as Ralphie briskly wags his stubby tail and lays a wet one on any flesh he can capture. Even the vet let out a sound you never want to hear from a vet. He didn't want to do this at all. Oddest thing, he dropped the syringe while getting Ralphie out of the kennel and the tip broke off. None of us had ever seen that happen. I'm not talking about the needle, I'm talking about the tip that the needle attaches to...it BROKE. We all said, "it's a sign, it isn't time!" But it wasn't our decision.

15 minutes passed since the doctor and one of the other technicians had gone in with Ralphie.
20 minutes.
25 minutes.
The tech bounced into the treatment room, "They're going to give Ralphie another chance!! But he has to pass these on his own."

He's passed rocks before, these look pretty round. It's possible. They're not likely as big as they look on the radiographs, but they're still big.

I told her to tell them about the cage looking muzzles that greyhounds wear and the dog, appropriately named Rocky, with the same bad habit who wore one.

If Ralphie passes these rocks, he'll probaby be seen next time with one of those muzzles.

Gosh it feels good to possibly have saved a life.

Now...
Just pass those rocks, Ralphie.
Please.

UPDATE: August 30th. We saw Ralphie again today. He hasn't passed the rocks yet, but they are moving, SLOWLY. He's passing stool so that's a good thing.

Pass the rocks Ralphie.

UPDATE: It was September 12th. A file slides across the table towards me, I glance over, my eyes already down into the eye pieces of the microscope. I look at it. A file within a file. The outer file says, "Please Sign". The inner file belongs to Ralphie. I look at the sympathy card. I can't sign it.

Sweet Ralphie.