Well we had a very long night. Tons of tests and scans later and we got home around noon today. I was exhausted but had to work so just got home again to update... We all know Gracie is an older dog...so they ruled out a lot of things including a tumor, damaged trachea, lung puncture or anything that could have been missed with the accident. The choking and breathing problems were the main concerns. And ultimately, we have no real answers...except she is an old dog and her body doesn't function like it use to. She continues to struggle with swallowing and has some inflammation in her throat but nothing concerning. They changed her food to a consistency she might can handle better. She was acting completely normal just a couple hours after being there.  The blood was a mystery! But he was going to release her for me to monitor and see if there was another incident. And as the vet, who we have all grown to love, reached down to pet her and tell her bye, she started wagging her tail and when it hit against the table, blood slung everywhere! Mystery solved! We all had some good laughs too! She has wagged her tail so much lately because she is just a happy girl! And apparently she has hit it against something and caused it to bust open. Now keep in mind, Gracie is completely shaved and is used to having tons of hair and cushion back there...So her tail is a little more sensitive to stuff. She is all bandaged up and just wags the bandage at you now. I've been with her since I got home. She's had no more breathing incidents and was able to eat some pork roast for dinner and had a cheeseburger for lunch. So I will just watch her for now and hope that this too shall pass! She army crawled about 8 feet to go outside with my husband when he got home. He said he sat her in the grass and she was outside for about an hour and happy as could be! 

Thank you all for the kind words and thoughts. I know you were with me today. 

Also just to answer some questions- the vet is one hour away. I live in a very rural part of the state, even Walmart is an hour away! I have called and checked with all the cerftified rehabilitation places. Definitely weighing a lot of options with these. All of them are 2-3 hours away and expect that she will need to come 2-3 times each week. I'm not sure that I can swing that between work, kids and life. I did schedule a consultation this Saturday at 1:30...but then I found out that the vet who called me is only going to be at this location for 2.5 more weeks and they do not have a water treadmill...which she will probably need. Another one can't get me in for 2 weeks. My vet thinks I am overreacting and that she may not be ready for rehabilitation...to give her time! Her mobility improves daily...and she will get up! 

Time for couch cuddles and bandage wagging. Thank you all again! 

You know you guys are awesome! 

And right! Gracie will get up and if she don't, we will make it as a twopawd! I am not going to push the rehab! If her attitude changes or she seems unhappy, then I will look into things but she's got this! She definitely has me wrapped around her little paw. I finally convinced her "big" little brother to come visit (Baker, my 11 year old black lab rescue)- he's doing a great job ignoring her but she loves that he is here. 

I am exhausted. Been awake for about 40 hours so I am going to leave these two to enjoy each other's company and try to get some sleep. 

Sweer dreams