How quickly plans can change when an emergency arises! Last night as we were finishing our blogs and getting ready for bed, Sara started acting strange. First she ate all her dinner food, drank a lot of water, then started dry heaving and wretching, but not bringing anything up. All broad chested dog owners know to be alert to signs of Bloat (where the stomach flips and twists, causing blood supply to the stomach to be shut down, death of organs and within a few hours, death of the animal). That was my first thought but I wanted to be wrong, so we watched her for an hour - now drooling clear saliva, pacing, nervous, and stomach felt tight and full. So we started calling emergency vets in Kerrville - "leave a message" at one vet, other one said he doesn't do the surgery needed to reverse Bloat, so that meant getting to San Antonio. By now it was 1am and I'm unhooking the RV in the dark, and Linda is looking up numbers and addresses for San Antonio vets. We felt bad running out on the newlywed rancher couple next door since we had told them we would see them in the morning, so we left an explanatory note on their table and got on the road by 2:30 am. Fortunately, no traffic, but watched very closely for deer, etc. on the roads - saw lots of bunnies and a few deer. We got to vet by 3:30am and by 4:30 they had done X-rays to diagnose Bloat, and prepped her for surgery. Linda and I returned to the RV and went to sleep til we got the call from the surgeon, who let me know surgery had gone well, did not have to remove spleen, no other masses found, and stomach was not necrotic, so she should be OK after healing a long abdominal suture. Very scary, and we're not completely out of the woods - hoping everything heals quickly, but I'll need to keep her calm and unstressed! Hopefully to get discharged Friday morning, which ruined our plans for Fredericksburg, and Linda's plans to see her nephew in Austin. Instead, we will stay here in SA until Sat morn when I will drive Linda to Austin airport for her 4pm flight. After the 6:30 am progress report from the surgeon, we both went back to sleep, despite the noisy freeway sounds at the vet parking lot. We were up by 8am, visited with Sara, stopped at Walmart, and found our way to the north San Antonio KOA Campground (wanted to try some of the northern bike trails). First, I did major floor cleaning thanks to Sara's illness, but got it all washed up. Then a quick lunch at this great campsite, and then out on the trail for a bike ride. We are on the Salado Creek and it is pretty, but not as great as the Mission trail. But it does run right behind the campground and our campsite, and weather is breezy cool, so very lovely! We're in an industrial area of town, but surrounded by trees and creeks! We rode for an hour, then explored the campground - the pool is especially pretty, but I was too cool to want to swim. Instead, we built a fire for grilling our pork chops, grilled asparagus, and steamed some broccoli for a great dinner. But I miss Sara in everything I do! Praying she will bounce back quickly.