Dog Day Afternoon

I was supposed to have a Ribby finished to show you today but my weekend didn't go as planned.

Aggie had an allergic reaction to her immunizations.  Is this the saddest thing you ever saw (she's not asleep)?

Aggie's eyes were swollen all Saturday afternoon and most of yesterday from a bad allergic reaction to her vaccinations.  Friday night when we got up to to go to bed Aggie couldn't walk.  It was like she couldn't get her back end up.  I was scared to death.  She'd been fine just an hour or so before.  She'd yelped a couple of times when Dan got up off the sofa during the evening but we thought he'd caught her fur or pushed on her paw or something.  I'd given her a chicken chew that had just come in from Fosters & Smith and I thought maybe she was stopped up.  I called the Emergency vet and they told me to give her 1/2 tsp of vegetable oil and if she wasn't better in the morning to call them back or take her to our regular vet.  Of course I didn't sleep at all Friday night.  I kept waking up to check on her in between dreams of her pulling one of those little wheelie things behind her.  A little dramatic?  Maybe but I was scared and I have weird dreams when I'm upset. At 6 am I woke up to the unmistakable sound of a dog heaving.  It wasn't Aggie, it was Lucky.  Dear God.  What the heck's going on.  I turned to look for Aggie and she'd fallen off their big pillow bed under our bed and couldn't get up.  I don't know what the deal was with Lucky but he didn't produce anything and he was fine after that. 

I knew I'd never get back to sleep so I picked Aggie up and took her downstairs.  I stood her up by the back door and she was walking now but not right.  She went out and pee'd but couldn't poop.  I brought her back in and she plopped down and wouldn't get up again.  The vet finally opened at 8:30.  We packed her up in her little bag and took her in.  We had her on the floor while we were talking to the receptionist and she barked.  Dan unzipped her bag and out popped Miss Aggie like nothing was ever wrong.  Dan and I looked at each other dumbfounded and the girl behind the desk looked at us like we were nuts.

She (Aggie... not the girl behind the desk) proceeded to do a little circle dance and poop right in front of their desk.  Well. I guess that was the problem.  She had an appt. for later this week for her annual check up and shots anyway so they took care of it since we were already there.  By the time we got home in the early afternoon I was sitting down at my computer to write to Kim to let her know Aggie was fine because I'd written her when I was waiting for the vet to open and I didn't want her to worry.  In the middle of the email I heard a weird scratching noise behind me.  I looked back and Aggie's eyes were quickly swelling and she was scratching her face like crazy.  I freaked.  I called the vet and they said get her back there in a hurry.  We have a very nasty cliff-side mountain drive to get to the vet's office.  One side is a stone mountain and the other side is a cliff and the Hudson River. Let's just say it was a hairy ride (when we calmed down and were talking about it later, Dan felt bad that he didn't drive me back but we didn't want to leave the boys home alone any longer that day).  The usual half-hour drive took about 20 min... maybe a little less.  I was so afraid that the swelling would go to her throat and she'd suffocate on the way.

The vet came running out and grabbed her and assured me she'd be okay and then he whisked her in to give her a shot of steroids and benedryl.  They kept her for a couple of hours to make sure she was coming down.  She's pretty much back to normal today.  Her eyes are still a little swollen underneath.  She's not her usual playful self but she's getting there.  I swear.  Vet bills are killing us this month. 

So I'd planned on finishing my Ribby Cardi this weekend but this is how it was instead:

Instead I nursed little girl dog on my lap while Lucky stayed close by.

From now on we'll be sticking around the vet for a while after injections.  My God.  I was so scared I was going to lose her on the drive back there.  They think it was the vaccine for Lyme Disease (there are a TON of ticks here).  She's supposed to have a booster in three weeks when she goes in for her dental.  Needless to say I'm really worried about it.  The vet said that it could have been one of the other injections even though she'd had them all before but maybe by a different manufacturer.

Comments

[sandy]

Oh, Jean, the poor little dear! What a smoochy, sick face Aggie has! I know that the story ends well (since I'm reading LATE as per usual) but my heart is still pounding a mile a minute! Poor you! That was so scary! doggie smoochies all around.

[gina]

FYI, we have the same problem with one of our 3 springers, he needs a shot of benadryl when we do the shots. It isn't the lyme that is the problem as they normally don't do that one here. We haven't had the problem since, just make sure that the benadryl on board.

[windyridge]

Oh the poor dear pooch. Thank goodness she was ok in the end.

[Marsha]

How scary! So glad that she's doing better now.

[Wool Winder]

That sounds horrible! Let's hope it doesn't happen again.

[Jennifer]

Oh no. I hope she makes a full speedy recovery. How very scary. Hugs and doggy biscuits.

[Norma]

OH JEAN!!!!! You KNOW how I feel about vaccines, and now this. I'm thinking sweet Lucky was having sympathetic symptoms of some sort, or was maybe trying to tell you Aggie was not OK. Oh MAN! Is there something we can do -- a drive, perhaps -- to help you with all these staggering vet bills???? I wish I could hug you. I know what it's like to have that scary, scary feeling.

[Diane]

p.s. We've been told they have been adding a vacine for Erlichia which may be causing problems.

[Diane]

Our border collie went in anaphylactic shock after gettin her puppy shots. Luckily she collapsed while waiting in line to pay for the visit. She was quickly scooped up by the vet and given meds to revive her. It was a very close call. Not thrilled with the data about vaccines out there. Glad she's OK.

[kathleen]

oh boy. I am glad she is better but so worrisome.

[Kim]

Oh dear...I didn't realize that Aggie had her vaccination. We will have to talk sometime about vaccinations. I will tell you honestly though, I would NOT bring her in for another one. You will be far better off using something like advantage to control ticks. Advantage is a topical that you put on the outside and is much easier on a Cavaliers system than the vaccination. I am so glad she is ok!!!

[alice]

oh aggie, what a weekend! i went through that exact scary weekend last year (minus the stuff leading up to the first vet trip). my little baby girl, then about 6 or 7 months, went in for her first round of shots. i then tucked her in my jacket (she was all of 4 lbs, and is now a robust 5!) and we headed out for a while. my ex and i went to borders and stopped into the mall for a few things... no one really cares if you have a puppy in your shirt, as long as she obliges and licks a face or two! however, as we were leaving the mall, i heard weird breathing... and her ENTIRE snout was swollen up. her nostrils were almost shut, and her ears were so swollen they were just about sticking straight out! we called the emergency vet, and lucky for me my regular vet was doing his once-a-week shift there! a shot of benadryl (or the likes) later and... she was as happy as could be. but lord, my heart beat faster for that couple of hours. hugs to you and your puppies!

[Dianna]

I, too, have had a dog have a nasty reaction to the Lyme vaccine. In our case, she had seizures and a rapid temperature rise. Our other two dogs at the time got intractable diarrhea after that vaccine which eventually had to be treated. I've since spoken to a vet about that vaccine. There are two types of Lyme vaccine - one caused a lot of reactions because of how it is manufactured, and the other is far better. It might be worth having a discussion with your vet about that.

[monica]

Oh no!! Poor Aggie! A friend of ours is a dog trainer and her own dog had horrible reactions to the lyme disease vaccine. Her dog would scream every time she opened her jaw. Her dog luckily recovered but she doesn't get that vaccine anymore.

[Jackie]

That's so heartbreaking and scary, to see them sick like that. Last spring, our puppy George got Lyme's disease and went lame, but we didn't know why. He was limping around and we thought he hurt his paw - by the time the Vet's office opened a day and a half later (Sat pm to Mon am) he was in bad shape - could barely use his backlegs, wouldn't eat, oh it was just awful. I feel for you. I really hope she's feeling better soon.