Animal Drama

I am so ready for the animal drama to end (and the vet bills!!).

I noticed a few days ago that Bella had some swelling under her neck.  We were very busy, and I mentioned it to Mike, but we forgot to check further.  Then on Sat. morning I noticed it was getting bigger.  I asked Mike to check it out and he did so and said it looked like she must have been bit by something and it was swelling and red.  She seemed fine and being a weekend we couldn’t get her in to a vet right away so I figured if it was still there Monday we would go in then.

Early Sunday morning she was pacing in and out of all of our bedrooms, and finally got our attention fully when she was pawing at the wall.  She paws at the door to let us know she want out or in.  That is the only reason she paws, so for her to paw at the wall to wake us up and alert us that she was in need is really smart!!

We got up to investigate.  Mike followed her downstairs and I went to the bathroom where I noticed blood on the floor.  I called down that I thought she was bleeding and he said “I’m well aware of that!”  I ran down and bless her sweet heart, it looked as though someone tried to cut her head off!!  All that fur under her neck totally drenched in blood!!  She was sitting under the desk in the school room and was allowing Mike to dab at it with a wet rag.  We got some scissors and tried to cut the fur out of the way but we were not able to get down to see the wound.  It was not actively bleeding though and it did not smell.  I know from going through an abscess with Fluffy years ago (how he became ours is he was dying from an infected abscess)—the smell indicates infection.  At least it didn’t smell.

We called the emergency vet and explained what was going on and they felt she would be ok to wait till morning.  The girls had gotten up with all the commotion, but Clara took one look at Bella bleeding and went back to her room.  Lucy is so like me, she grabbed the mop and started cleaning up the blood to keep busy and deal with it that way.  She was to go off to camp Sunday afternoon and we wanted her to get a good night sleep though, so I finally persuaded her to go back to bed.  Mike has had a flair up of his bowel issues and so he went back to bed—so it was then just me and Bella! 

She wanted to be close, but didn’t really want to be touched so much.  She would pace, and pace, and pace!!  I sat on the floor and she literally just walked in circles around me for hours!!  It was heart breaking!!  I felt so helpless.  She wasn’t whimpering, just pacing (thank God, I don’t think I could have handled whimpering!).  By about 9 am she was able to settle down and rest!  I called the vet again and she was so awesome to talk to me for about 15 min on the phone.  We decided she was good to wait for Monday, but to give aspirin and double the Benadryl.  The verdict was based on all the info that it was a snake bite!!!  I asked about the venom and she said if it was a bad snake we would know it by now….  Goodness gracious!!

Usually dogs are bit on their nose, but this sucker got her neck!!  Just under her collar.  I got her in to a vet this morning and they had to give her some anesthesia and shave the area and clean it really good.  She is on antibiotics and pain meds.

She is in her favorite spot resting.  She goes between being under this table and the table in the school room (her dens)  Sweet girl—I hope she has learned her lesson—STAY AWAY FROM SNAKES!!  She has slept since being home which is great!  The wound looks good—I mean it looks awful and I hate that my fur baby was bit by a dang snake—but it is draining the way it should and looks like it will heal well.  She has loved being in the country so much and running free, playing with other dogs, and exploring—but the country has not been good to her thus far with allergies, snake bite, and a slew of kittens making her very outnumbered!!  It will get better now though, I just know it!!  :)