Skip to main content

Django's Bout With Botox

I'm glad I snapped a picture so I can show our vet how she looked at the height of her reaction.

The minute I got up yesterday, it was already a Monday in every sense of the word. I was running late. My younger daughter was sick… again… for the 4th time in three months. My youngest did not want to get up off the couch and head out into the 29-degree weather to go to school. Neither did I. But we finally got out the door, and after I dropped him off at school, I ran some errands. On the way home, I got a text from my oldest daughter who was just leaving to make her 9 am class. It said, “What’s wrong with Django’s face?”
I hadn’t noticed anything wrong with Django’s face before I left, but I couldn’t really remember looking at it either. I let her and Hayley out as usual at 6am, then filled up their breakfast bowls when they came in and went about getting ready.
I walked home a little faster than usual, and when I saw Django, I was mildly horrified. Her lips, eyes and bridge of her nose were swollen and red. Her poor skin was a montage of hard, red bumps the size of dimes and they were itchy. She looked terrible, and I began freaking out on the inside. The vet wouldn’t be open for hours and I knew she needed some antihistamine in her, so I turn on the computer and went straight to the vet sites I trusted. I learned Benadryl was the drug of choice for an allergic reaction and found out how much I could safely give her. I also found out this is a relatively common occurrence.
The scary part was that although we are not far from our vet’s office, the staff wasn’t in yet. What if she had trouble breathing? What if she collapsed? I painted every doomsday picture in my mind while petting Django and trying to relieve her discomfort with cool cloths. Django’s lips were so puffed up, she couldn’t chew the way she normally would. When I tucked two halves of a Benadryl pill into a piece of cheese, one half fell out and Hayley (always close by when food is out) lapped up the bright pink pill in one lick. Luckily, since it was only half, it wouldn’t adversely affect Hayley but just give her a good snooze.
Django laid on the couch next to me while I mentally went over all possibilities for what could have caused this and continued to research online. I learned that if she had trouble breathing or started to vomit, I should take her to an emergency vet immediately. She slept on and off, and after a couple of hours, her face started to look slightly better. I followed up with another dose in the afternoon and by nightfall, she looked normal but was still a little itchy. I could still feel the bumps underneath. This morning she looks like nothing ever happened. My guess is either a spider bite or some kind of insect bite must have occurred when I let her out into the yard. She didn’t eat anything strange, just the same food she eats every other day.
One thing this little experience has taught me is the importance of knowing where your nearest emergency vet is. I admit I had no idea, and that added to my worry. Since my vet has long hours and I never really had a pet emergency, I never before had a situation where I had to consider it.
This is Django last night, with only slight redness lingering but basically looking like herself again. Poor thing…hope she knows she is in for some spoiling over the next few days!
Labels:

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

10 Strangest Items Swallowed By Dogs

My mother’s Schnauzer mix, Sha Sha, eats just about anything.  I didn’t quite believe just how often she would quickly snap up everything in her sight until a few weeks ago when she swallowed a quarter and a nickel in the blink of an eye. The vet advised my mother to watch her for the next few days as the coins would likely pass. It’s a very common issue among dog owners and it doesn’t only happen with puppies. The majority of dogs do grow out of the need to eat inedible objects. It can be difficult to pinpoint exactly what a puppy would eat so it’s best to be vigilant about where you dog is allowed to freely roam. Many dogs and puppies have been known to swallow seemingly unsuitable items, which  you might not find in any way enticing or preferable, but they do. Check out this list of the strangest things swallowed by dogs as witnessed by the  ASPCA :
Post a Comment
Read more

Keep Your Dog Safe With These Holiday Safety Tips!

    ‘Tis the season for putting up decorations and eating delicious holiday treats, but that also means pets could be getting into serious trouble! Trupanion , a leading provider of medical insurance for cats and dogs, sees a 10% increase in foreign body ingestion claims and a 24% increase in toxicity claims during the holiday months each year. But you can keep your pets safe this holiday season with the below tips from Dr. Sarah Nold:
Post a Comment
Read more

10 Most Common Medical Conditions That Send Dogs to the Vet

No one likes going to the vet, especially our dogs. Like many others, my dogs can sense when they are going way before we get there. They get nervous and hyper. Some dogs whimper endlessly at the vet’s office while countless others have fear-induced accidents right in the office. While regular check-ups and vaccinations are a necessary evil, we can try our best to keep our pups in optimal health thus avoiding another dreaded trip. Veterinary Pet Insurance  compiled a list of the 10 most common medical conditions that send dogs to the vet. Some are unavoidable while others may be caught early on. Dr. Carol McConnell, DVM points out that many of the conditions that most regularly require vet visits “can be stopped early or successfully managed in partnership with a veterinarian. To prevent some of the discomfort that so many pets experience from common diseases, the place to start would be by checking them regularly for developing problems.” Check out the full list here at Babb
Post a Comment
Read more