Ever notice that your cat or dog sickness happens late at night or on a weekend? Once again Gizmo, my 3 ½ year old dog, was sick early on a Saturday morning. He woke me up at 6 am with a huge coughing spell. Heat coming off Gizmo’s body!

I was shaken and immediately went into action. I took his temperature. It was 103.8F — way too high for a dog. Then I called the local 24-hour Emergency Clinic which is 30 minutes away from us.

We discussed a game plan. Since he wasn’t struggling breathing, I could wait a few hours for the local Urgent Care Clinic to open. Instead of driving a half hour, I drove 5 minutes to the Urgent Care Clinic. Although we were early, they let us in. Fortunately, I had completed the required paperwork online.

Let me back up. This was October 3^rd, the beginning of the dog coughing illness or mystery disease. I had my plan and executed it and it worked great.

Gizmo had pneumonia in one lung and bronchitis! We had to wait 5 days for the results of his Canine Respiratory Disease Panel for his specific infection. He changed antibiotics and was still taking his Class 1 narcotic medicine for his cough. He also took honey several times a day to help moisten his throat and help sooth his cough.

It was a long month for him (and us), as we kept him quiet, avoiding other dogs, and not playing with his buddies. He’s doing great now!

Plan for Cat and Dog Sickness

Here’s how I planned for Gizmo’s emergencies. Please take these steps NOW so you are ready when your dog or cat are suddenly ill.

• Create a list of your veterinary clinic, all the local pet emergency clinics, local pet urgent care clinics, and local veterinary medical school clinics. Include name of clinics, the addresses, phone numbers, and hours. Many clinics are extremely busy, and you may need to call several to get an appointment.
• In your cellphone, create contact information for each of the clinics including phone numbers and hours.
• IMPORTANT: In cellphone, put your pet’s name after the clinic name.

Prepare Your Home For Your Cat or Dog Sickness

Now prepare your home for when your cat or dog is sick.

• Purchase a non-glass rectal thermometer and petroleum jelly.  Pet rectal thermometers are available.
• Dogs and cats have very similar temperatures. On the thermometer case or container, mark “normal temp 101 F to 102.5 F. Call Vet at 103 F or higher.”  For Celsius normal is approximately 38.1 C to 39.2 C. Call Vet at 39.7 C.
• If possible, it is helpful to have another person help you take your pet’s temperature!
• During Gizmo’s illness, I learned Costco in our area has the largest selection of dog prescription medications and the best price.

If you have the luxury of another driver taking you and your pet to the clinic, do Tellington TTouch Ear Slides to help your pet be calmer. Years ago, I swear the Ear Slides saved our dog’s life on the way to the emergency clinic. These affect all acupuncture points in their body.

Gizmo was sick in October before the “Mystery Dog Ailment” traveled across county. We think Gizmo was affected by the prescribed fire burns that help prevent forest fires. For several days and evenings, we had heavy smoke – as I stepped outside it was like I walked into a huge campfire.

For any dog family, I highly recommend your dog has all their vaccinations and shots. If you dog goes to a dog daycare or kennel, be sure the vaccines are up to date especially for Bordetella and/or kennel cough, if required. Ask your veterinarian what they recommend for your dog.

Be sure your dog plays only with healthy dogs. Also don’t share food dishes or water bowls.

Real Important – Pet Poison Helpline

Just in case, here’s the link to the Pet Poison Helpline with food and plant information. I hope you don’t need this information. Please put this phone number in your phone 1-855-764-7661 for US, Canada, and Caribbean. $85 incident fee applies. Our true story.