Keltie

Our trip to the cabin last week-end ended with an abrupt departure to the veterinary clinic.  DeeAnn’s youngest border collie, Keltie, gave us a scare when she collapsed to the ground and lay motionless for a few moments.  If that sounds scary, it is a thousand times worse in real life.  There was no apparent reason, and after a trip to the vet followed by two more trips to the UM Veterinary Hospital – there still is no apparent reason.  But the symptoms are there and that is what is being addressed.  Keltie had an arrhythmic heartbeat , per her EKG at Doughtery’s Vet Clinic, which had right-sided itself when at the UM Vet Hospital later that evening.  Still it warranted concerns and she was referred for a cardiologist consult which Deeann managed to get squeezed in five days later, again at the UM Vet Hospital.  This time an echocardiogram was done, showing Keltie’s ‘athletic heart’ per the cardiologist.  A small heart murmur but nothing to warrant a total collapse.  As a means to cross all t’s and dot all i’s, the cardiologist suggested Keltie wear a heart monitor for a couple days to see if she is experiencing irregular heartbeats unbeknownst to us.  The heart monitor has the appearance of a service dog vest and is black, hard to see on Keltie.  She is on day 1 of her 2 day  monitoring.  We anxiously await to hear what the recorder is picking up.  The UM Cardiologist has said to ‘let her play’ but it is hard to let her go full bore.  Keeping Keltie and Holly in a quiet mode takes some masterful planning and attention.  They are both busting at the seams to burst into a play mode.  Holly is so desparate for a playmate that she has been trying to entice Helen to play, unsuccessfully.

While Keltie was resting in the cool grass in the shade after her incident, I sat with her so DeeAnn could close up the cabin and get the car loaded.  Holly came over and laid directly down, side by side, next to Keltie.  There was no playfulness, just a calm and concerned dog laying next to her best friend.  It warmed my heart to see her sensitivity and support for her best friend.   Holly was hopeful for play opportunities at the cabin today, but Keltie cannot get her heart vest wet so being unleashed was not an option.  Holly did her laps alone and had some solo swims in the lake, then would check in with her tethered friend to see if anything had changed with her availability.  

It’s interesting to see how the dynamics change when taking just one dog out of the mix.  And it’s been agonizing to think that sweet little Keltie girl has something wrong in that big heart of hers.  We wait and hang on to all the good news that the vets have given us.  And we work on building trust and confidence with letting Keltie’s body play, run, swim and chase again.

The life lessons taught by our dogs just keep happening every day!   We keep learning and loving them as we go – both the lessons and the dogs!