Chapter 102 – You Never Know
Enzo came running over to the food tray and slid to a stop like a baseball player sliding into home base. He grabbed a dandelion leaf and began munching. It was just another day in paradise at the House of Buns.
Dad gave Enzo a pet. He seemed fine, but he could feel more of his spine than normal. Dad asked, “Enzo, have you lost weight?” He picked him up. Indeed, he felt lighter than normal. Dad placed him on the baby scale. Dad exclaimed, “Oh my gosh, Enzo, you HAVE lost weight!” The last time he had weighed Enzo was three weeks ago, when Merlot experienced her sudden weight loss. Since then, Enzo had dropped from 4.3 pounds to 4 pounds. His normal weight for the past year was 4.7 pounds.
The last time he had lost weight was ten months ago. Like Merlot, he needed a tooth trim. Once that was done, he went back to normal. Of course, it was Friday, so they had to wait until Monday to see the vet.
Enzo and Merlot were cuddled together in their afternoon nap spot on Monday, when Dad suddenly appeared and announced, “Sorry to break this up, guys, but Enzo needs to go to the vet.” Merlot heard the word “vet” and immediately ran under the bed to hide. Enzo was more trusting and let Dad pick him up.
On the way over, Dad reassured Enzo, “You probably just need a tooth trim. It shouldn’t be a big deal. I’ll leave you overnight so they can do the surgery tomorrow morning and I’ll pick you up tomorrow afternoon.”
At the vet, Dr. Deng looked Enzo over. She observed, “He is a little thin and dehydrated. His teeth aren’t too bad, though. They could use a trim, but none of them are digging into his cheeks. But I hear a heart murmur.” Dad was surprised. That had never come up before. Dr. Deng continued, “He should probably get a cardiogram at some point, but we can do an x-ray to make sure his heart isn’t enlarged before we put him under anesthesia for the tooth trim. We should also do a blood test and chem panel just to see if everything is OK.”
Dad OK’d the x-ray and tests. The vet took Enzo in the back and left Dad to wait anxiously in the examination room.
After a half hour, Dr. Deng returned with the results. She reported, “Well, the x-ray shows his heart isn’t enlarged, so that’s good. But his chem panel says his creatinine and BUN levels are off the chart. His creatinine level should be less than 1.7 and it’s at 8! He could be experiencing kidney failure, which would explain the sudden weight loss.” Dad was shocked. He seemed perfectly normal up until the time they left.
Dr. Deng went on to explain, “If it’s chronic kidney failure due to an infection and we catch it in time, we can probably save him with antibiotics. But if it’s long term kidney failure, the kidney scars and there’s nothing we can do. For humans, you’d either get a kidney transplant or go on dialysis, but we can’t do that for rabbits. I recommend we keep him here and put him on IV fluids and antibiotics and assist feed him and see if his numbers improve.”
Dad looked at Enzo and said, “I’m sorry sweetie. I’m going to have to leave you here. But they’ll take good care of you. I’ll be back to check on you.” As they carried Enzo off to the back, he looked longingly at Dad and thought, “But Dad! You said this wouldn’t be a big deal!”
The next day, Dr. Deng reported that his numbers had improved slightly, which Dad found encouraging. They decided it was best to leave him on IV fluids, which meant he had to stay in the hospital. Dad packed up Enzo’s favorite treats and headed over the hill to visit him. Enzo was happy to see Dad. He ate several fresh willow leaves. Dad spent two hours with him just petting him and making sure he knew he wasn’t being abandoned.
This went on for the next few days, but every day, Enzo seemed less energetic. All Dad could remember was how happy he was at home. Maybe he was just tired of being in the hospital. He hoped if he brought him home, it would make him feel better. Dr. Deng suggested, “Let’s try taking him off IV fluids for the weekend. We’ll keep him here and administer subcutaneous fluids. If he can maintain himself, then you can take him home and give him fluids at home.”
It was hard to leave Enzo. He petted Enzo, sang their song to him, and said, “Sorry I can’t visit you tomorrow. They are closed. But you just eat and feel better, and hopefully, you can go home on Monday.”
But that was not to be. On Sunday, Dad received a text from the vet, “Enzo is not doing well. His legs are splayed and he can’t stand up. You’d better come over.” Dad’s heart sank.
