Yesterday afternoon, Dan was working outside, while the girls and I were in the house, in various stages of "getting ready for naps." Ruby had fallen asleep under the car and Dan backed it up, unaware that she was under it, sleeping in the dark shadows. We aren't sure exactly what happened. She wasn't completely run over, but must have been somehow pinched by the tire.
We took her straight to the vet, even though she was able to walk. But we could tell she was in shock. The news was grave–she had internal bleeding in and around her lungs and was in critical condition. We left her at the vet and returned home to pray and wait.
While one vet remained "hopeful", the night shift vet had a much more tragic outlook and seemed to be preparing us for the worst.
We went to bed, and I watched the hours tick by, thankful for one more hour passing without any bad news. The phone finally did ring in the middle of the night–the vet–needing permission to draw some of the blood and fluid off of her lungs.
I managed to get a few unsettled hours of sleep around dawn, as I waited until 6:30, the time I was supposed to call and get the next report.
The news was better. Encouraging. Ruby was awake, "acting like a puppy", but still having a hard time breathing. The outlook is much better. And a few things we were waiting to hear about–which could have been very serious–have all come out clear. Can I say that I have never been so excited to find out that my dog went the bathroom??!
It sounds like Ruby will be home tomorrow morning. She'll be slowly weaned off oxygen and then monitored. Her body will have to take care of itself, and heal itself. The rest is up to her.
I know some people would probably scoff at the expense and trouble we are going through for this little 11 week old puppy. But our family has been through enough loss this spring, to face it one more time. As my husband said to me, when I called him from the vet office, weeping over the "estimate" in front of me, that I was to sign my name to, "She's too good of a dog to just let die." She's already made an indelible mark on each member of our family–even the four-footed one, who comes to the car door, every time we drive in, looking for his new little pal.
I covet your thoughts and prayers for sweet little Ruby–for her continued healing and swift return home to her family.
Thank you, friends.
xo.
Thinking good thoughts for your sweet Ruby! May she have a speedy recovery and get back to tail wagging and general romping.
Sending warm wishes and good thoughts your way. We have a Ruby too, the last 8 weeks with her have added so much to our lives. She is a sweetie.Hoping everything works out okay.Take care,Dawn M
Sending healing thoughts your way…
thinking of her, and of you guys.
Oh sweet thoughts indeed for little Ruby! I know how much animals can impact your lives, and I hope she will get to continue to be a part of yours! Take care!
Best healing thoughts being sent Ruby’s way. I am tearing up as I type. Get better Ruby and hang in there Ruby’s family.
thoughts and prayers are with you all! xoxo
oh goodness. i’m praying now! we’ve just gone through something similar so i can relate to how you are probably feeling. post again soon when she’s home and back to herself! 🙂
my thoughts are with you and your family, molly. wishing ruby a speedy recovery.
Oh my gosh. I’m so sorry to hear about this. My dogs have always been such a HUGE part of my family that I can’t imagine how sad you must be right now. I’m glad to hear she is feeling a little better. I hope she continues to improve. Hugs {{}} Mary
oh, molly. thinking about you all and praying for ruby. big hugs.
praying for you molly. i hope little ruby is home soon, with a swift recovery and you are able to continue with full strength on little sleep. xo
Oh Molly, I hope Ruby makes a swift and complete recovery. Thinking of you all! xxx
Oh, Molly. I can imagine how hard this is on all of you. And your girls must be inconsolable.I don’t scoff at the trouble and expense. I put thousands of dollars into my 10 year old black lab, at a very difficult time in our life, because I just couldn’t bear the thought that I could do something to keep him alive, and didn’t.We will all be thinking of you and pulling for Ruby.Hang in there. Best wishes.
I for one am not scoffing at all at what you will need to pay. Pets become family very quickly.
I pray for your puppy and family. Best wishes to you all.
Pets are family. She is lucky to be part of yours.
Praying for Ruby.
Dogs are furry children. We will pray for Ruby. I hope she pulls through with flying colors. Keep us posted.
Eager for the update that your furry child is home with her family, where she belongs. Sending lots if positive thoughts and prayers your way…
Prayers going up now. The simple fact is, she’s family, even though she’s only been with you for a bit. And you take care of family, no matter the cost.
ruby ruby, sweet little one, you be a strong girl ok? definitely praying for healing and recovery.
Oh sweet family…I am saying prayers this evening for continued healing. Also saying a special prayer for your husband who must be feeling incredibly bad…I know…I accidentally turned the dryer on once with the cat inside. I have never forgiven myself. Hope Ruby is home soon.
Oh my.You’re so right… you family has seen too much loss.Praying over here.xo
Ruby looks like a mini version of my Harley. We definitely send well wishes to her!! Hang in there!!
My heart goes out to you and your family!!! Such a sweet little baby, Ruby must be. You’re in my thoughts and in my prayers. Here’s to a speedy recover, Ruby!! 🙂
Oh, Molly.
Much love to you all.
xo.
oh molly and family. we are thinking of you and sending warm healing wishes to Ruby. Hold each other tight. xoxo-all the soules
Oh, oh, oh. Little puppies are so strong. Here’s all the healing thoughts, coming your way.
Molly, I am so sorry. Please keep us posted.
You have all experienced too much loss this spring, our thoughts and prayers are with Ruby. Let’s have a speedy recovery!
Prayers for Ruby and hugs for you. I’m so glad she’s doing well and going to come home!
I have spent untold amount on my cats over the years – it’s worth every penny.
You certainly have mine…up to the sky and down to the bottom of the sea. Don’t apologize for mourning and truly feeling the potential loss of a beloved family member who just happens to have four feet.I do understand..forever and ever.Happy thoughts, prayers and good wishes I hope flow your way.
Saying lots of prayers for Ruby, she is such a good pup! Let us know how it goes tomorrow. Where did you take her? Is she up at Paul’s Uncles clinic?
prayers and thinking about you all, so sorry you are going through this.
Oh, I can totally relate Molly… I am sending you lots + lots of prayers and good wishes for your sweet Ruby. I hope + pray she will be fine! Ruby is lucky to have you all as her family.
I hope Ruby is still making a quick recovery. You and your whole family are in my thoughts. You’ve had a tough year so far, I hope it gets better for the second half of the year. Hugs!!
Enough, you guys have been through enough already.I don’t know why it is that all these things happen in a short amount of time.Farm life is tough and I know, we live on a small one.My children have been through a lot too and I hope after the fact they will think that was a good thing.I hope puppies bounce back like children.p.s. I tagged you with the Honest Scrap Award, won’t you play along:)
oh, molly, it doesn’t matter how long you’ve had her…she’s obviously already in your heart. I’ll be praying for a quick and sound recovery for her!
oh, molly, molly. sending love to you and yours, and healing wishes to sweet ruby. xo
so very sorry for all of you. get well ruby.
Oh, poor pup! I hope Ruby makes a full recovery.
I would expect no less from you and your sweet family than to take care of that injured puppy. May God bless you all for taking care of all men and beasts!
O friend, my heart aches for you little family. We are thinking and praying for you.
What a sweet dog Ruby is.
Bless you!
We’ll keep her (and you guys) in our thoughts.
Molly, I am so sad to hear this news about Ruby, she is such a sweet and adorable little dog. Our thoughts and prayers are with you all.
Oh no, I’m so sorry. I hope she’ll be okay. One side benefit, is that she is soo young, puppies (and babies) heal so much faster and completely than grown-ups.
Off topic – I was going to post about how inspired I am by your blog!
thinking of your little pup & a speedy recovery! ((hugs))
Oh, poor Ruby! I’m sure she’ll be fine. I’ve got my fingers crossed for you.
Anyone who doesn’t get why you would spend so much has clearly never had a pet before. We spent nearly $1000 on our sick kitty a couple of years ago. The vet said he felt a lump, that was probably a tumor, and that the only way to fix him was x-rays to make sure, and then surgery to get rid of it, and even then he’d probably still die.
Wanna know the worst part? When we got to the emergency surgery clinic the doc there said “what tumor?” and when we showed him the lump on the x-ray he said “That? That’s his stomach.” There was no tumor at all! Turns out that he had an infected sore in the back of his mouth and all he needed was some antibiotics. What should’ve been a quick and really cheap visit ended up costing us more than 800 dollars and 13 hours of misery and despair as we thought we were losing our beloved cat.
(((hugs)) I hope she’s home and making a full recovery soon.
thinking praying an hugging my dog for you..
I hope she’s home and up to mischief soon! x
Good puppy thoughts.
Prayers and healing thoughts headed your way! I
Love and hugs,
Sending special healing wishes for Ruby….
She will no doubt recover faster in the warm, loving environment of home.
Irish thoughts coming your way. Life is so precious, we must do whatever we can to preserve it in all its forms.
So sorry you’re going through that. Prayers for healing for Ruby.
Thinking of you guys, Molly–hopefully she’s on her way home now.
Positive thoughts are being sent your way.
Heavy heart today, as I read about Ruby. Healing prayers to Ruby and good energy to all for doing the right thing. High five paw to her for staying strong. Best
Yes, our family is praying hard for Ruby. She will get better.
Family is family, Molly — no matter how many legs. We will keep you all in our hearts and send good puppy thoughts your way.
Oh I’m so sorry to hear about your darling puppy, how horrible. And I completely understand paying out the expenses involved. We had a tiny little hamster who got sick once, we spent a fortune trying to keep her alive (well, a fortune considering that she weight about 20g) but we loved her lots.
Sending all my thoughts your way and healing wishes to Ruby.
My thoughts are with you — quick healing to Ruby!
Wishing swift healing and return to your family. I hope your daughters are handling it well.
Poor Ruby, I hope she makes a good recovery Hugs to everybody
it’s too hard to NOT spend the money Molly. you are doing the right thing. it’s just money, I’ve told myself this before about beloved dogs. our hearts and prayers go out to your family. it is amazing how resilient dogs are. Our most recent jumped out of a car window while we were doing 55mph at 10 wks, was shot in the shoulder a few months ago and STILL chases our car at 30mph!much love and many prayers. let us know…
Oh hon! I’m so sorry that this happened to your sweet pup and the family that loves her. You and she will be in our thoughts and prayers!
Sweet little Ruby! I am praying that she is strong and as eager to be back with her people as they are to have her back romping around. Many prayers for all of you.
Having an 11 week old puppy myself, this story really got to me. I’ll be praying for your little puppy.
oh, molly, no scoffing. it’s what we do. healthy healing to ruby and her mommycoddle family. xx
Sweet Ruby is in my thoughts! You have been through so much lately!
We all spend money on hundreds of things we don’t really need, big and small. I’m sure no one will judge you for instead taking care of a little creature you all love so much!
Ruby is in our thoughts and prayers. I know how it is to worry about a four-legged family member. I also know how expensive it can get. I dropped $1500.00 on one visit with one of my dogs. Hope everything turns out right.
Prayers are definitely going up for wee Ruby. Our family went through a similar experience with one of our “family” members. We too put out a LOT of money to try to make sure they returned to us. They truly do become part of the family very quickly and it is unbearable to think what life would be without them. Here is to hoping little Ruby is on the mend and returns to her family quickly!!!
oh, dear.what an incredible family that ruby has — loving on her, praying for her and wishing with all your hearts for her safe and healthy return home.
my hopes and prayers are with you all and ruby too.
Of course we’ll pray for her! I was so happy to hear she was doing better! Keep us up to date!Anke
This has always been my worst fear with a little (so, hard to see) dog that has no respect for cars. And we would pay the vet bill, too. Good luck.
Oh Ruby, sending love and healing to you, little one, and hugs to your family.xxx
My first time visiting your site (from Haibt) and already in tears. We too have a loveable lab and I know what incredible family members they are.
Praying for your pup!
Oh dear sweet hearts… Ruby will bounce back, I am sure. Don’t feel too bad, I did the same thing with one of our cats. The cat walked under the car as I drove into the garage and could not see where he was. We will keep all of you in our thoughts.
our Heavenly Father cares about each and every detail of our lives, this includes your cute little puppy’s health. I’ll be praying with you for ruby.
Thinking of your family and Ruby and sending positive vibes for a full, speedy recovery. About 9 years ago, I spent an insane amount of money to repair our year old pup (looks quite a lot like Ruby). There was never money more well spent. $2500+ was a lot of money we didn’t have, but Hannah has given so much love and provided so much joy. At 10, she is snuggled in under my feet as I type this. When something you love is broken, you do whatever it takes to fix it.
so sorry i’m late to this sad news… i hope by now ruby is home resting and being smothered with love from her sweet family. xoxo
I’ve been in your spot and it’s so very hard, but please know that oodles of people are sending you virtual hugs & comfort & only the best possible wishes.
What a rough time you’ve all had of it lately! I will absolutely keep Ruby in my thoughts.