Canine Alarm Clocks

I am not a fan of this time of year.  Turning the clocks back turns me off!  I dislike the darkness that comes with shorter fall days and leads us into the winter months.  The time change alters the cycle of my canine alarm clocks as well.  Even though they are Border Collies with intelligence levels that rank them near the top of the I.Q. scale for dogs, they have not figured out how to turn their biological clocks back an hour from daylight savings to standard time.

Over the years, I have come to count on their gentle wakeup calls rather than the shrill beeping of my traditional electronic alarm clock.  They seem to know precisely when to time their trip up stairs to begin the ritual of another day on the farm.  My four-legged dream-stopping dogs have it figured out down to the second on when their intrusion will be welcomed or met with a pat on their “snooze alarm” heads and a sleepy command to “go lay down and stay out” as I drift back to sleep.

Their sometimes boisterous bedside manners find them pouncing on the mattress for a split second, and then bounding down the stairs with a chorus of barks that ensure my wakeful attention. Perhaps sensing the need for a more quiet approach on other days, they simply stand and stare into my face, sometimes lifting a paw to poke the cozy comforter and coax my eyes open.

Because the shift to standard time confuses my Border Collies’ sense of timing these wakeup calls, I find myself oversleeping that first week of shorter daylight hours.  Eventually all of our systems adjust to the time change and we are back to a normal routine and no longer do the dogs and I make mad morning dashes to get to work on time.

On weekends, my canine sentries have learned to hold off their revelry for an hour or two, giving me the opportunity to sleep in on Sunday and the occasional Saturday.  But, if I make the mistake of stirring slightly on those rare lazy days, my Border Collies are on full alert and ready to start the those days with the same boundless energy they exhibit Monday through Friday.

Nellie, my daughter’s seven-year-old instigator of the wakeup call ritual, was missing this week from the canine morning crew.  She has spent several days in a veterinary clinic hanging onto life.  Thankfully, with the help of a skillful surgeon, she should survive her life-threatening mistake of swallowing pieces of bungee cord.  The rubber strap had become the centerpiece of a Border Collie tug-o-war contest last Sunday afternoon.  After three of the participating Border Collies tired of the game, Nellie began chewing the winner’s “prize” into pieces.

On Monday, Nellie was not herself.  A call to our veterinary clinic was made, and an appointment scheduled the following afternoon.  Nothing earlier was available, we were told.  In the meantime, Nellie was obviously in escalating distress.  She restlessly patrolled the perimeter of our lawn, grazing on grass and vomiting.  She quit eating normal food and drank little water.  Her lethargy was uncharacteristic for a dog that was always playful and ready to work.

Unfortunately, she had swallowed pieces of the “chew toy” she had torn apart the previous day.  I suspected they had failed to pass through her GI tract and were wedged inside her intestines where they threatened to snuff the life out of this vibrant dog.  Her eyes told me she was fighting to hang on, but losing the battle.

Nellie’s condition escalated into an emergency situation.  Emilie gently lifted her dog into the capped bed of our little Chevy truck and transported to the animal hospital.  The diagnosis upon her early morning arrival was not good and confirmed my suspicions.  Her blood pressure was too low, and her temperature was ten degrees below normal.  Her kidneys were threatening to quit functioning and her vital signs were ebbing.

Emilie tearfully relayed the veterinarian’s x-ray results and his list of options --- operate and remove the blockage, put her to sleep, or do nothing in which case the dog’s intestines would rupture.  Options two and three were discarded instantaneously, and option one required Nellie to be rehydrated, put on antibiotics, and stabilized before surgery.

This strong, well-conditioned Border Collie came through the complicated surgery like a trooper, but will have a long road back to recovery.  She will have to “rest” for several weeks, and that will be a hard adjustment in the routine of this working dog.  Allowing time to heal is essential for her future longevity.

As I file this blog, Nellie remains under the watchful eye of the veterinary professionals, and we are optimistic she will be home on the farm this weekend.  Our daily visits to the clinic to check on her and let her know we haven’t abandoned her are helping to keep her condition and strength improving.

In the aftermath of all emergencies and near-tragedies, hind sight is always 20:20.  I should have intervened and taken the bungee cord away from the playful dogs.  I should have anticipated that, unlike the hundreds of stones, sticks, and assortments of other things swallowed by my Border Collies, that this “toy” selection would be disastrous.  But, I didn’t.

Instead I have learned another valuable lesson in life.  I am grateful for the skills of trained veterinary professionals whose talents have plucked life back from death’s door for many of our farm livestock and for this lucky dog named Nellie.  On our farm, the Border Collies are more than just four-legged cattle-herding helpers.  They are part of our family.  All of us were impacted by the possibility of losing Nellie through a careless accident.

Even though we deal with life and death on a regular basis in the livestock business, the chance of Nellie --- my daughter’s “best friend” --- dying was blow to all of our spirits.  She had gone from a playful, exuberant dog to one barely hanging onto life in less than a day.

While some may feel it is a waste of prayers to ask for healing for a dog, we know that many folks voiced this request in Nellie’s behalf this week.  We are thankful that she has survived the surgery and seems to be on the road to recovery.  We anxiously anticipate her return to familiar surroundings on our family farm where bungee cords will no longer be within fangs’ reach in the future.

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