I immediately burst into tears.

They said things like kidney or liver failure but much like when my son was in NICU, the words went through one ear and out the other. I nodded, despite them being unable to see me, and told them to do what they needed. They gave him fluids (although he never stopped drinking water, he was dehydrated) and administered meds and, surprisingly, sent him home.

When the blood work came back they said his body wasn't getting the protein it needed, so he needed a chicken and rice diet. They thought perhaps it was inflammatory bowel disease.

At our second visit to recheck Bogey, we told the vet that we thought he had worms because we saw white stuff in his poop. I was frustrated because I've had him on heart worm medicine that's also suppose to protect him from certain kind of worms. But the worms he may have had (we never tested him, just gave him a dewormer) could have been one of the few worms our medication didn't cover.

Could that have been the cause of the protein deficiency? We questioned the doctor but we never really got a clear answer.

After two weeks, Bogey was filling out and had his normal pep in his step. As happy as I was, I still felt an immense amount of guilt. I didn't know he could get that big. I didn't know he was suppose to be. It made me wonder how long this had been going on.

I tried to let the guilt go. Bogey was doing great! And I promised myself, and Bogey, that I would never let something go on like that again.

But it wasn't over yet.