Just call her Nails McGee

Well, Casey has outdone herself this time ...
I noticed late last week that her rear end seemed to be in pain: Her tail was tucked between her legs all the time, she groaned when she laid down, she was walking stiffly and growling if we touched her hips or back. She'd shown similar symptoms before and we'd taken her to the vet, who said it most likely was a pulled muscle.
So, I waited a few days to see if she'd get better like she did before but on Friday night, as she lay at my feet whimpering, I decided I had to take her to the vet.
Saturday morning we went to a new vet (the one we'd seen before isn't open on Saturdays) and the vet confirmed my observation: Casey was in a lot of pain. After a tip-to-tail examination, the vet gave our girl a pain shot, sent her home with some anti-inflammatory meds and told us to come back Monday so she could be x-rayed. The vet thought Casey was suffering from hip dysplasia.
After an unfortunate incident Sunday morning when I tried to give Casey her medicine (I got bit. Twice), we made it through the night and I brought her in this morning for the x-ray.
What happened next is what makes this a story worth telling:
Dr. Mounts called and said, "Well, I know what's wrong with your baby" (she's so right, Casey is my baby. Caddy is too — always has been — but I never would have guessed I would fall for a dog).
Then she said, "She swallowed a nail."
What?
Yeah, I think that would cause some pain and general grumpiness. Especially if it had been in there for a few days.
So Dr. Mounts performed emergency "foreign body removal" surgery and a few hours later she called to let me know everything had gone well.
She said the nail is about 1/2 inch long and attached to a piece of plastic. Oh yeah, and there was a rubber band in there as well.
Nick and I visited Casey after work this evening, and she was alert but definitely not herself. And who can blame her because after all, she had her tummy and her intestine both cut open and sewed back up. Ouch.
She was really pitiful looking in her big kennel at the vet's office hooked up to a "doggie IV" fluid drip. She'll have to stay there tonight and tomorrow night so they can make sure she's OK to go home.
Poor baby.
So I asked Dr. Mounts what other strange things she's removed from dogs' stomachs and here's what she said:
1. Condom
2. Tampon
3. Rocks (multiple rocks from the same dog — a daschund)
4. Towel (an entire towel)
So I guess a nail wasn't the strangest thing on her list, but shocking nonetheless. Dr. Mounts said she figured it had been in there a few days. The funny thing is Casey was still eating, drinking and pooping like normal.
By some miracle, the nail hadn't punctured her intestine, thereby making the whole ordeal much less complicated and scary.
Since all of this, I've now decided to switch vets. Vets need to be open, at least for a little while, on the weekend. Period. And, a successful nail-removal surgery will sell a dog owner on a vet any day. At least, it'll sell this dog-owner.
I wish we could've taken a few pictures of Casey with her doggie IV, because that's priceless. Although I'm sure our girl wouldn't appreciate being photographed in such a compromising position. Maybe we can swing by tomorrow and get the pics.
In the meantime, Nick and I are thanking our lucky stars she's OK and wondering how we'll get through two nights without her here with us.