Another trip to the vet

New development today: Sam has been doing pretty well with his treatment, and I have meant to post an update saying as much, but yesterday he had three accidents in the house--he's never even had one before--and there was some blood in his urine. He can't seem to go when we're outside, even when he assumes the usual stance of concentration.

I called Dove Lewis last night (emergency clinic, well respected in this area and kind of pricey because it's a real emergency room for animals--ask my father sometime about how our cat had pins put in her hip there), because my vet was closed, but the doctor said I might want to wait a couple of hours and observe him before bringing him in.

Logically, I knew this was the right thing to do, but emotionally I wanted to bundle him into the car and drive him to NW Portland.

Instead, I closed Sam up in the bathroom overnight (so he wouldn't pace, and so my carpet could have a break), and this morning rushed him off to the vet's office at 8 AM when they opened. I didn't even call ahead, figuring that my sweet dog in the waiting room would be harder to say no to than just telling me over the phone.

The vet doesn't get in until 9, so they offered to keep Sam until the doctor can see him. A cat scheduled for surgery has the first appointment, but the technician assured me the doctor should get to my dog right away, and I can probably pick him up at lunch time.

The vet tech said it sounded like a urinary tract infection, which is exactly what I suspected it was. I spent half an hour last night googling "prednisone" and "immiticide", looking for side effects that might include Sam's symptoms, but didn't find much. I am guessing it's a result of how much water he's been drinking, since the prednisone increases his thirst and his urination. But I won't know for sure until later.

Fortunately, I'm taking a class today for work (Adobe InDesign--fun so far), and the class center is even closer to home than my usual commute, so I shouldn't have any trouble picking him up on our class lunch break. Also, the class doesn't start until 9, so I am not even using any PTO (personal time off, for those lucky enough not to know what it means--a combined vacation and sick time bank) this morning.

In other news, I submitted my online application Sunday night for the University of Washington's Master of Library and Information Science. I should know something by late March. In the meantime, I have to do my financial aid paperwork (yay, FAFSA), but first I have to do my taxes, and before that I'm still waiting for my W-2s from last year.

I'll post an update as soon as I know something. I just wanted to let you know what was up, since I know so many of you are concerned about Sammy. Thanks for reading.