Help! Vomiting and Bright Red Blood in Diarrhea

Question
My 6 year old Soft Coated Wheaton Terrier named Cayno is not having a very nice day. She is my Registered Service dog, as I am disabled, so we are very bonded emotionally.

Last night she started vomiting, and having diarrhea. Right away we (my fiance and I) knew she was sick, as she is a smart dog who will normally "ask" to go out, but this occurred on the bathroom floor (actually, the ONLY rug in the house!) These first instances showed only some flecks of blood in the vomit, and nothing in the diarrhea. Today, she has vomited x4 with no more blood, and diarrhea x2, with the last one showing what I consider a large amount of bright red blood.

I did my online research, and my thoughts are that a) she is stressed due to our moving into a new home this past week, plus she was with me when our car broke down, which meant many hours waiting for a tow, waiting at the garage, waiting for a rental car... so life has not been normal. Also, b) she inadvertently ate a baby back rib bone, albeit small, but I surmise it may have irritated or torn the lining of her bowels. She is very lethargic, but will come when called, and when I left for half an hour early this morning, she greeted me upon return in the usual fashion, tail wagging, bouncing, etc.

I have put away her normal free feed dry food, and offered her some cooked white rice with a teeny amount of plain scrambled egg - not interested. I changed her water so it is fresh, and set that outside her kennel, which I just set up - she likes to have a hidey hole, and seemed more relaxed when she went in and laid down.

I guess I am looking for reassurance that I am doing the correct thing, and at what point should she go in to the emergency vets? I did contact her normal vet, but we now live in another town about 25 minutes south. I am awaiting a call back from them. She has no tenderness or bloating of the abdomen, no swelling of the anus, and no discoloration of the gums. She did eat and drink up until yesterday evening. The spare rib was eaten two days ago.

How long can she go w/o fluids before she needs to have some supplied intravenously? I will keep the water fresh and available, but I am very worried. Also, how long should I expect there to be blood in her stool before it should start clearing up? I read 24-48 hours - but my assumption is if she does not show any improvement within the next 24 hours, she needs outside care from a vet. But if within the next 24 hours she does at least start drinking, ceases to vomit, but still has some blood in her stool - is she still okay to stay home? I plan on collecting a stool sample next time we go out, just in case.

Normally, I'd take her right away to the vet - but due to the recent move and the car trouble to boot, I am zeroed out financially. So I want to do the best I can for her if possible at home, but I will find a way to pay if she MUST receive care. She is my sweetie wheatie, am I doing things correctly?

Thank you in advance for your help. I hope I didn't ramble on too much.

Sincerely,
Meg and Cayno, Waiting in Maine  

Answer
Dear Meg,

A few things, first, I raised Wheeties for many years and they are very sensitive to their human companion's emotions and stresses, so you are probably correct about that being part of the issue. Secondly, even if the bone its self didn't damage anything, Wheeties are also very sensitive to beef and to fats so again, you are probably right on there too. Your instincts are correct also about getting her to a vet if she continues to not drink, she can go without eating for quite a while, but not without water. Check her for dehydration frequently and perhaps get some electrolytes into her even if you have to put them into her with an eye dropper or some other squirt in the mouth method.

You are definitely doing things right, keep trusting your instincts. Hopefully your vet will return your call soon, if not call them back. Have you taken her temp as yet? If not, you might want to at this point.

Unfortunately, I am no longer able to go into the degree of helpfulness that I did in the past because I have helped an animal that was the client of a vet in CA which apparently cut into his income because he contacted the FL Dept of Professional Regulation and complained that I was practicing without a license and they sent me a cease and desist order.  Yes, in this "free country" of ours I don't have the right to help..without charge..people who either can't afford the vets outrageous fees or who have gone the vet rout unsatisfactorily and are seeking in desperation some alternative, non-toxic, non-invasive alternative.

If any of you who might be reading this are someone whose pet I helped, I would sincerely appreciate hearing from you in my personal e-mail: n4asue@verizon.net.  I would like to hear any ones feed back about the health of their pet after following my advise..negative or positive. If I have helped even one pet and the person who loves them it will help me to continue to do what I can to be there when needed. As an ordained minister as well as a Holistic Pet Care Consultant, it is my passion to serve in the healing of living things.

Thank you for writing,Meg and for allowing me this time to do some rambling of my own.

Sue