Near Disaster

Klaus snacking from the crab apple tree

What Klaus snacked on today

They say bad things happen in threes. Well, today was that kind of day with the last event of the day being a near disaster.

The morning began when we noticed some swelling on Tuloon's upper left leg after she began to limp. She had been sleeping soundly in her crate in the house that night so this limited the possibilities to an inspect bite. She was watched closely throughout the day. The limp went away as did the swelling.

The second "event" occurred when a group of dogs were out playing in the yard. Journey approached with blood soaking the outside portion of her foot. No limp at all, just blood. After taking a closer look, we found that she had torn her toenail exposing almost three quarters of the quick. The nail was still very solidly attached, however now extending at a distinct angle. The wound was cleaned and she continued to run around the yard showing no sign of pain. We'll keep a close eye on this area to make certain no infection develops. Otherwise, she will keep in clean and it will fall off in time. As long as she is showing no pain there is no reason to have it removed at this time.

The third event wasn't quite as easy and could have had a very disastrous outcome, thank goodness it didn't. Klaus has always had a strong desire to guard "resources"; his bone, his crab apples on the tree, his fill in the blank. Today, while a group was out playing, he was placed in a crate in the house to avoid any issues with another male. When he was let out, he made a mad dash for the door, snatching up the remains of a plush toy that the little dogs had destroyed, then running outside trying to devour it as he ran. It was, of course, now his and the only way to keep it all to himself was to eat it! When I got to him it was completely down. He ate the entire plush toy whole in seconds. My heart sank, having had a dog die as a result of a soft obstruction last year at this time, I was thinking the worst.

At the moment, I knew I needed to get him to throw up but my mind was racing and I wasn't able to remember the name of the liquid that induces vomiting so I jumped on the phone to my vet finding that they were now closed. Thankfully, I had home and cell phone numbers and finally got a hold of them. Hydrogen Peroxide. After hearing the words, I kicked myself that I hadn't remembered and could have administered it minutes sooner. After squirting a good 36CCs of Hydrogen Peroxide down his throat he began to throw up but still no plush toy. The second time around, out it came! A huge sigh of relief.

The thought of losing a dog is just unbearable and the thought of losing one because I was unprepared is even worse. Words of advice from someone who just got a dose of reality today; brush up on your first aid skills and be prepared for anything to happen when working with sled dogs.