319 WATCH BATTERY

Oscar has a fetish. He loves underwear. My underwear. He loves to eat it. After a few scary incidents where I had to pull a half swallowed pair of underwear out of his throat while he choked and gagged, we learned to lock up all underwear.

Staying in Sonoma on Sunday, we put the suitcases in the closet since they had underwear in one of the half zipped pockets on the outside. No problem for Oscar, since the door had a latch instead of a door knob, he just jumped up and tripped the latch. Then he unzipped the pocket and proceeded to devour a full pair of underwear. When I finally caught him, there were only a few inch long scraps left.

We've been anxiously watching him since then to monitor if anything comes out either end. But he seemed to be eating and pooing as usual, so we began to wonder if we were mistaken.

Then Tuesday, it all started to go downhill. He began choking and gagging, but when he almost threw something up, he'd quickly swallow it back down. I spent two hours locked in the bathroom with him, trying to get my fingers down his throat as he retched to grab what looked like a piece of cloth coming up. When I finally realized I just wasn't going to get whatever he wasn't going to let come up, I called the vet who got him booked for emergency surgery. As I was on the phone, Oscar horked up a huge compressed ball of fabric. So I spent the next half hour, on vet's orders, unravelling the ball and trying to reassemble the underwear to make sure we had all of it. Before I nearly fainted from the gagging, I called it done. Then he threw up an elastic waistband just for good measure and I thought we had to have it all. I left for a few hours only to come back and find him looking really distressed. Took him to the vet who X-rayed him, declared there was a dangerous blockage and booked him for surgery at the emergency clinic.

Four hours later, the clinic told me I might as well go home, they were keeping Oscar for emergency rehydration, evaluation and more tests and might do surgery in the morning.

I was told to come back at 6AM at which time the vet would tell me the prognosis and if Oscar needed surgery. Good news: after $700 of expensive Xrays and Ultra-sounds, plus rehydration with an IV, Oscar was declared "absolutely cleared out". Just to double check, I said, "So you are completely sure that there is no cloth left in him?"

"Absolutely", said the vet, "These tests are very sophisticated. They'd pick up anything."

We left the vet's and four paces outside his door, Oscar squatted and produced a foot long piece of cloth. So much for diagnostics and the powers of veterinary technology.

But the good news is he's doing well and milking it for all it's worth. Here he is relaxing on the bed on a decorative sham (he didn't really want to lie on just a cotton pillow case) watching Law & Order.

Next step for me: pet insurance.

Today was our last day of school for a week and a half for vacation. Yay for sleeping in! :D
So, I gave all my gifts today and I felt good, haha. Most of them I could tell liked what I bought them, but the other's were like, unreadable. Well, oh well. OH! And my ex (Or his brother, I don't know which... The cards were lose in the bag they gave me) gave me this really nice necklace thing, BUT! It's like a pocket watch, only on a necklace :D I'm still wearing it. But I feel bad because it's from a store called "Things Remembered", and it's kind of an expensive store because they engrave on silver and sell silver products. =/ But I still love it. It was so thoughtful. And the other one gave me a cute ornament with a girl roundhouse kicking =] Their cards were nice too.
So I guess it was a good day. Not to tough at school... History was good =] Then again, when isn't it? It's like the only class I really love. Seriously, I love that class. I'm doing really well too =]
Tomorrow is Christmas Eve. Wooh hoo! And then, Christmas! Well, and Hannuka. My Dad's side of the family is Jewish, so we're celebrating it on Christmas because my grandparents weren't able to make it the first day of Hannuka because of all the snow we were getting.
.... Day 25 =] Fun stuff.