Zoe was a very sick girl...

 

     That slow, organized week that I had hoped for...just hasn't happened yet. I wanted to share this information about our Zoe, because it was completely unexpected and could happen to any of you who own dogs.

 

     Zoe is now almost 19 months old. Late Monday afternoon we took her in for her yearly shots for Rabies, DHLPP and Bordetella. We brought her home and she was just fine. She ate her dinner, played with her toys and had her normal evening routine. We put her in her bed about 11:00 p.m. and I did notice that she was a bit restless, but we thought she was probably just sore from the injections.

 

     Our morning routine is that my husband brings her into me at 6:00 and she curls up on the throw next to me and we go back to sleep until 7 (well, she does). Yesterday, he brought her in and she slept a while then sat up quickly and started to throw up. I got her outside, my husband took over and she was sick a few more times even though she hadn't eaten anything. By the time I got out of the shower and came in the living room, she was completely covered with huge red spots...everywhere. We immediately called the vet and were told to bring her in. In the car we literally watched as her face was swelling. By the time we got to the vet, her face was so swollen it had that round, puppy look again and her eyes were just slits. I was seriously worried that her throat was going to close off and we would lose her. This was all happening at 7:30 yesterday morning, more than 14 hours after the shots.

 

     The vet gave her a steroid injection and Benadryl. He also kept her, saying they had to get this reversed quickly. We were told to call at 3 and see how she was doing. By the time I called, she was better and able to come home. Her face was normal, her spots were mostly gone except for those around her neck and other than being a bit slow and tired from the Benadryl, she seemed to be almost normal. She was very thirsty and steroid shots make them lose a bit of bladder control, but that will pass in a day or two.

 

     This was truly a frightening experience because it was all happening so quickly. It is possible for a dog's (or human's) windpipe to close from the swelling, so if this had happened while we were sleeping...the outcome could have been tragic. Our vet said that it is unusual for a dog to have a delayed reaction like this, but a friend told me it happened to her dog the day after shots as well...so, it happens. It obviously also happens to dogs who had no reaction in the past since Zoe had the same shots last year and did just fine.

 

     She is still a bit "off" today, but has had a dose of Benadryl and seems distressed to be "leaking" a bit as she is housebroken and you can tell she is confused about that part. I'm keeping her either on my lap or in her kennel to protect the house and just to baby her a bit. She doesn't mind the extra TLC at all!  There are things they can give a dog to prevent this from happening again and we will certainly be taking care next year to protect her. I thought it was worth sharing as so many blog readers are dog owners.

 

     We are waiting for a storm system to come through later today. They have mentioned everything from hail, tornados, lots of rain, snow and dangerous winds. I hate storms, I get really scared, so I'm on high alert!!