We adopted Bella some time back. What a great family member. She joined our Brittany "Jake", and has since been joined by our yellow lab "Landry"
Bella began scratching at her eyes last Thursday and we made a vet appointment. We took her in and he said she had been sprayed with pepper spray. Now, the only time she is outside is when I get home from work and let her out to do her business while I check the e-mail. Any other time and I or my wife are with her. So it had to happen in the afternoon. Her eyes became swollen shut and bloody. We have to put ointment in them twice a day and it hurts her so much that I can hear her teeth pop as she grinds them while I'm cleaning her eyes. I must say she is such a sweet and intuitive dog because it's obvious she knows we're doing it for her own good and doesn't shirk or pull away. She is totally indignant about having to wear a buster collar.
I don't think it was the mail man because he knows her, calls her by name and even gives her a scritch on occasion. We were burglarized a few months ago but they didn't get out of the garage into the house and I suspect it's because they met 150 lbs. of pissed off Dane at the door that adjoins the kitchen. I have been wondering if it wasn't the would be burglars returning to the scene.
Anybody else have this happen to their dog?
It just pisses me off and I had to vent. Thanks for listening.
Jack
Any update on how Bella is
Any update on how Bella is doing?
Judy,Scooby, Daphne
another update
We've been draining Bella's jaws every day. She is off her feed and has lost 15 pounds in the past two or three weeks. She was so weak at the Vet's office that she couldn't stand from a sitting position on the tile floor. The infection which was localized in her head has now gone systemic and a pocket has appeared on her hip. The vet lanced the pocket that was under her jaw on Monday and drained quite a bit out. No word on the cultures yet, they said it could take as long as three weeks. Our vet has been on the phone to a specialist who agrees that we're following the correct course of action. He put her on another antibiotic (in addition to the one she's on and the anti inflammatory) and off the fungis medication (no fungis in the culture) and also put her on an apetitie stimulant. She started eating a bit, but not enough. I'm tired of this and I sure wish she'd get better. I miss my big goofy gal bounding across the yard.
Jack
cautiously hopeful
We're afraid to get our hopes up too much because Bella has gone back and forth a couple of times. However, last Saturday our Vet put her on an older antibiotic for atypical bacteria called ditrim. She had been on Baytril which didn't seem to be doing much good. The Ditrim seems to be doing the trick. She's got her appetite back, is getting around better, the swelling and discharge from her jaws is decreasing and the place on her hip has all but disappeared. She's also started being a bit of her old self, barking at her two brothers when they intrude on her daddy time and being generally ornery. It's good to see her on the mend and I sure hope it keeps up.
Jack
Improvement is good!
So happy to hear that things are improving! You have all been amazing and she's got to know it! Our hearts and prayers are for a full recovery!!
Glad she's better
We are so happy to hear she's a bit better (fingers and paws crossed). And, yes, please keep us updated.
Relief!
Sooo glad that things seem like they are improving! It is great to see them act like their own selves again. Please continue to keep us posted!
Cristina
Jack & Sydney's mum
Many thoughts and Prayers
How horrible that this thing has spread...I know you are totally exhausted from this and poor Bella. Sometimes things get worse before they get better, especially in healing. If you need the Magic Meatloaf receipe let me know and I will post it for you. I don't know what makes it so appealing to these guys but it will entice them to start eating.....sending many hugs to all of your family..
Judy, Scooby, and Daphne
what a ride
you all must be exhausted.... I couldn't believe it when I saw this post..... this is awfull... poor baby.... I hope the new meds work fast and kick this fast!!!! maybe Cassie will see this and have something helpful to add
prayers for Bella....
I'm just soooooo sorry for all that you guys are going through....that is horrible! Poor Bella.... Sending you guys lots of prayers that Bella will get better quickly.
Stacey
~in memory of Moose~
Wow
I can't believe what you are going through. I am so sorry. That is just so WEIRD...never heard of anything like that before. Have you tried the Magic Meatloaf or Satin Ball recipe? I know other folks on here have had luck with those when trying to get Danes to eat. Might do a search for it.
Sara (Bubba Chad's and Shammy's mom)
Hope she's turned the corner!
We're so glad to here that Bella is doing better. You have all really gone through it! Funny how they always know that whatever you're doing to them that you're doing it to help and with love!
Hope this is a big corner that Bella has just turned and that she's well on the road to recovery!!
any update?
I have been thinking about poor bella all day.. .Ihope she did ok at the vet and is recovering
any update
I thought the rupture was going to be a bad thing, but it has turned out to be good. We've been to the vet every day since it happened and he drains it, flushes it and gives her an exam. The swelling in her jaws is going down, although she still has a pocket under her jaws that he says he is going to lance on Monday if it hasn't significantly subsided. We drain and flush the pockets on each jaw every night with some flush he gave us. It's a nasty affair and she hates it, but we're getting less and less puss out each time. It was very thick and a lot of it, now it's watery and not as much. She also isn't draining much on her sheets we have put down, and her fever was down today. I think we're making headway with the antibiotics. She had a poop today and it was semi solid, and she's starting to get her appetite back. Today it made me feel real good when she actually got up and bounded out the door to bark at the neighborhood hoodlum with Jake and Landry (our brittany and yellow lab), and she got excited when we got the leash out and trotted to the car instead of lumbering like she has. I'm hoping we're on the downside now and that she'll be back to normal soon. She is still restless at night and the wife and I take turns sleeping with her in the other room. Our house looks like a patchwork quilt with old sheets everywhere she lays so that she doesn't drip and weep on stuff. She's been a real trooper through all this and has not once fought having all this done, she just sits and takes it. The biggest problem we've had is getting her to take her pills. I think the anti fungil must taste real bad. For a while we just put it under her flappy flap with some peanut butter and she'd lick them in, but lately she's figured out how to get the peanut butter and spit the pills out, so by the end I'm peanut butter from head to foot and she's just sitting there grinning.
She was having trouble getting in and out of our car and our truck so we bought a new car she could get in and out of easier. Do you think she's spoiled?! LOL! If you're thinking of getting a new car we bought a Mitsubishi outlander mainly because of the way the back opens. The rear door opens upwards, but the nice thing is, once you open up the top part, the bottom opens downward making the entrance real low so she can almost just step in without having to climb much. Funny, our new car purchases always hinge on how comfortable our dogs are and how much trouble they would have getting in and out. Now they have a DVD player they can watch movies on. ROFL.
Jack
Fabulous
I am so glad that Bella is doing SOOO much better. That has to be an ordeal for everyone...my other danes had to take 8 pills everyday, what I found that worked for us was to buy the big marshmellows - squish the pill in the marshmellow and then give them the marshmellow. They seemed to love the taste of the marshmellow and it masked the bad taste of the pill. In fact they would let me know when it was "pill" time if I wasn't on time. hehehe I hope Bella continues to do well, and I am keeping her on my prayer list...please keep us updated, as we are concerned about everyone's fur babies!
Judy, Scooby, and Daphne
American Cheese
SOOO glad she is on the mend.... Love the Marshmellow idea... I use american cheese... the stuff is so gross you just ball in up.. it will roll into a ball (not something positive for cheese) and then we "toss it" do it a few times with plain cheese then stick a pill in it... works great with Austin ... Mo can't catch so I just sort of tease her with the cheese ball and then give it to her....
Hugs and treats
Im so sorry you're having to go through this. Last year Aki's whole face swelled up in just a few minutes and we thought it was an insect. We had to take him in again yesterday because it happened again. He was inside this time when it happened and we found nothing when we searched high and low. All the vet could tell us was it's an allergic reaction. It's scary when these things happen to our babies but at least theyre lucky enough to have us there with them while theyre going through it. I'm sure that during this time is when she just bathes in the love you give her. Give her some extra hugs and treats for me while youre at it!
More Prayers
I am so sorry that Bella is going through this rough patch...but then I am very happy that she is in great hands with you and getting the medical care that she needs. I am wrapping your family with big hugs and kisses...please keep us updated...
Judy, Scooby, Daphne
update
Late last night Bella's left cheek erupted. It has been draining steadily all night. I called the Vet and we're off this morning to get it checked out. The good news is that the swelling in her eyes is all but gone and the swelling in her right cheek is way down. I think the antibiotics are doing their job but it kills me to see her hurting. I miss her gregarious happy go lucky attitude.
Jack
yuck
I hope that this is the gets worse before it gets better stage!!!!! By any chace could this be a tooth infection??? poor baby oh and thank you for NOT including pics
just got back from the vet
I guess there is hope for the world yet. The vet now says his initial diagnoses was wrong. He said he suspected she had been sprayed because he had never ever seen an infection come up in both eyes at the same time as fast as this did. He was shocked when he came in and saw her jaws. He decided to see if he could get anything out of them and ended up filling three of his largest syringes with puss. On the good side, her eyes look a lot better though not fully healed. He had already done an aspiration on her lymph nodes for lymphoma and it came back negative but showed signs of a fungal infection. However, he was so concerned about it that he did another aspiration to send off, as well as standard blood tests, aerobic and anaerobic cultures and fungal cultures. He put her on his strongest antibiotic along with her fungal medicine and wants to see her again on Wednesday. We're worried sick about the lymphoma although it is the most treatable of cancers. Anybody out there ever have a dog with lymphoma? It was a pretty hefty bill today, but I didn't bat an eye, after all... she is our oldest child.
Jack
temporary stay for the decline of the human race
On some strance level I am glad that it wasn't "done" to her...... but now I am worried about how sick she is... it sounds like your vet is on it.... I guess we are praying and hoping for an infection that responds quickly to the medication.... I am wondering if she got bit by a recluse sdpider or had a bad reacition to someother kind of insect... when our Austin was bit by a recluse (it was in the house..nice) his face swelled like a basketball and then he developed some secondary infection... I guess that is the only time I ever heard of a reaction like this....
hope she responds fast and is back to normal soon
Absolutely awfu!
We are so sorry that you are all going through this, it's so unbelievable!!! Sounds like you're taking excellent care of sweet Bella, she's so brave and I'm sure she knows all you're doing to help her get well!!
Did you ever find out exactly who did this to your sweet girl?? They should be ________________! Please feel free to fill in the blank any way you wish to! You're all in our thoughts and prayers!
Bella and her eyes
Bella's eyes are still bad, but a lot better. She started developing swelling in her jaws and lymph nodes under her jaw began to swell. Our Vet became concerned about lymphoma and did a biopsy. It came back negative but the lab said their tests indicated a fungal infection. Her jaws are so swollen that we can't get her buster collar on and off and one of the lymph nodes under her jaw is huge and I suspect it is making it hard for her to eat as she is off her feed (even her favorite Bella treats). I feel so sorry for her, she just looks miserable, like she has the mumps. We started having problems getting her pills in her, I think the anti fungal is probably really bad tasting. We have found that if we stuff them in peanut butter and just raise her flappy-flap up and put it under there then she licks them down. I'm so ready for her to be her obnoxious lovable self again.
Jack
strange thought
Is this all from the pepper spay or are they thinking something else? I don't understand how a fungal invection could come from pepper spray..... but then again I have never had a dog sprayed!!! Is it possible she got into a bee hive or fire ants? or eaten something weird? do you or your neighors use some kind of fungus natural yard spray.....
I am holding out that NO HUMAN could have done this.... however faint my feeling is....... please keep us posted and hug her for us
strange thought
The vet thinks the fungal infection got in through the sores in her eyes. Our neighbor on one side doesn't spray anything and the house on the other is empty right now. Beehive...maybe but doubtful. Bella is a flower sniffer, likes to stick her head in the bushes and sniff the flowers when they're blooming, but it's never caused a problem before, and we haven't added any new plants.
Jack
Bella
I am so very glad that Bella is doing better. I had been thinking about her the other day and wondered how she was doing. You must have heard me thinking! hahahaha Many good thoughts and wishes are coming your way. Please keep us updated on Bella's condition...she is a brave girl to go through such a horrible circumstance.
Judy, Scooby, and Daphne
Humans
Do they really have the right to be called human when they do cruel things like that?! How dare they! I've had people actually stick their fingers through our fence at our barking growling dog and then say theyre going to sue us. Some people are just cruel and stupid and completely undeserving of respect. I say strip them and put them in a kennel. Say for 2 or 3 weeks? Dont clean it but once a week and then just hose it out with them in it! Give them very little water or food. Let others come up and poke them with sticks or throw rocks or rotten stuff at them while also throwing verbal abuse. See how they like it! I hope your pup will be okay not only physically but emotionally as well. Please give her a hug for me. Poor baby. I'll be foaming at the mouth in outrage for a while. Human...hmph!
What a Crock!
Some people are just not meant to be on this earth, and they know who I am talking about! Unbelievable that someone would pepper spray a dog BEHIND a fence no less! GRRRR I live next to a bayou which is adjacent to the Park N' Ride. There is grass that the Park N' Ride cuts and trims every week. One week I caught this "worker" taunting Scooby through the two fences..I went postal on him, of course he couldn't speak English. So now everytime I hear them cutting the grass I go out into the "dog pen" to make sure no one is taunting my dogs. I don't understand why those workers do that. Scooby was just looking at them, not barking, etc, even when the workers were taunting him Scooby didn't do anything but stand there. I totally understand and I sure hope Bella gets better...May all the bad people who do things to animals be placed in a large pit and have doo doo dumped on them for eternity.
Judy, Scooby, and Daphne
I am so sorry. Livid and
I am so sorry. Livid and insane and indignant would just scratch the surface of how I would feel if it were my dog - and approximate how I feel for yours. Many years into having one of our dogs an Xray showed he had a bullet in his thigh which was probably there long before we got him. I cried and rampaged at the injustice, and was angry for weeks. Would surveillance cameras be out of the question?
Livid
I would be livid if someone did that to my fury kids! I just can't understand why people would do something like that. The only time I would ever consider spraying a dog would be if my life was in danger or my dogs... But to intentionally go up to a dog and spray them has to be someone that is out of their mind. Is she ever off a leash or out of the fence outside unsupervised? How else would they be able to get to her? Poor baby... I hope she is getting better as each day passes.
Cristina
Jack & Sydney's mum
Grrrrr
Bella is only in the backyard in the afternoons when I get home. Other than that, I'm usually in the yard with her if she's out. She's never out of the yard without us and on a leash. So they must have done it when I let her out in the afternoon when I let her out to do her business. That's the only time she's out when I'm not. We have a chain link fence so they could have done it through the fence. I'm also thinking it might have been the construction workers remodeling the empty house next door. Her eyes are improving and she should have a full recovery but she's in a lot of pain. Her jaws are swollen from gritting her teeth. She seems a lot better today and isn't trying to paw at her eyes and they aren't bleeding any more, just putting out a lot of eye boogers.
Jack
what the *&^%$
Could it be that you had a new mailperson? we have had a constrant stream of different carriers.... Once I got a card about our vicious dog... at the time we just had Austin .... I had to call and have the Supervisor come out and determined AUstin was not a threat....
How would the mailman get to her?
If it was an intruder and she is only out when you are there do you think they try to get in when you are there??
Either way it is SUPER SCARY! Keep us posted on her condition and what you find out..
Oh my gosh!
I can't believe that. It does sound like the would be burglars probably. That or punk kids. That is crazy. I have doggie doors so I put up an 8' tall privacy fence with a deadbolt on the inside because I had fears of someone trying to mess with my boys. Just goes to show that, just like humans, you can do everything you can to protect them but if someone evil really wants to do something bad, they can.
Did the vet think that she will recover or will the drops be an ongoing thing for the rest of her life?
I just can't believe someone would do that to a sweet innocent animal. There is a special hell for these people...I firmly believe that. It's the only thing that helps me make sense of it...they WILL get what is coming to them.
Sara (Bubba Chad's and Shammy's mom)