Hi,
I apologize; we did not get out this Sunday to explore another castle or take-in a beautiful miradouro. We opted to take the day off to rest and recuperate. Little did we know that fate had a twist to deliver.
Opal, our sweet little husky, let us know on Sunday afternoon that something was wrong with her. Chris took a look at her, consulted Dr. Google, and Monday morning we called the vet’s office and scheduled an appointment for that afternoon. We were so tense and scared. But once we got Opal to the vet we learned that of the possibilities listed by Dr. Google, we were looking at one of the least critical. A ruptured anal gland abscess. Serious, but nothing that cannot be treated with antibiotics, anti-inflammatories, and proper wound care. And, of course, the dreaded e collar. Sorry Opal.
So, we took Opal home, gave her some medicines, and returned to the vet on Tuesday. Again, with medicines and homework, and we will be returning to the vet again on Friday. So far, Opal seems to be responding well to the medicine and treatment, so I am very hopeful that Friday will be a happy visit with the vet.
I will let you know!
Nola
P.S. – Today is Sunday, June 22nd. I report both good and bad news. Good news first. We took Opal to the vet on Friday. The vet said Opal’s wound was looking good and she seems to be mending. We could cut back on irrigation to once a day, and come back the following Friday. Bad news now. The vet was wrong. Early Saturday afternoon, Opal seemed to be in distress. She couldn’t sit down. She had been fine Friday evening and Saturday morning, but by about One o’clock on Saturday afternoon, the abscess had enlarged and was swollen and was very painful. Chris drained the liquid from the abscess (blood), but this caused Opal too much pain. To be clear, Chris had been draining and irrigating the abscess all week and Opal had been not-happy, but she was a good girl and allowed Chris to treat her wound. On Saturday, Opal could not sit still. She cried and struggled and didn’t want anything to do with the treatment. So, we hopped in the car and drove two hours to the vet where they managed to squeeze us into the queue. This ended up with more anti-inflammatory pills, a new antibiotic, and a pain pill for the pupper. Plus, we are back to twice-daily treatments instead of just daily treatments. But, Opal seems back on track now. She is a bit dopey, but she is tolerating the irrigation treatments and the insane swelling we saw on Saturday afternoon is a thing of the past (knock on wood!) We have a new appointment to see the vet tomorrow afternoon. Wish us luck!
P.P.S. – Today is Saturday, June 28th. I am happy to say that Opal is feeling better. Her wound has closed and when we saw the vet yesterday, she confirmed that Opal is recovering. We are no longer irrigating her wound because it has healed over, but we are trying to keep the area germ-free (i.e., betadine washes) so she can completely heal without fear of reinfection. Yay!