Juno 104/365
Once again, Juno’s health is saved by early intervention.
I’ve been feeling guilty as I haven’t been able to give Juno the long walks she’s needed. I’ve been on a 6-week intensive course of a new IV antibiotic that has literally made me bed-ridden on the weekends. At the start of the week and the start of a new round, I can muster up 4 short walks but by the end of the week and after 5 days of IV antibiotics, I’m shredded and can’t move. Literally.
On Wednesday I discovered a foxtail had dug its way, 1.5” deep into her abdomen. I was lucky enough to have about 2 mm of the foxtail sticking out that I could pull it out. But it was infected. I’m so ill these days that I don’t have enough in me to even check over their bodies for ticks (though they're on Advantix) and foxtails before they become a problem. Lyme disease makes me so angry!
Luckily she had an acupuncture appointment that day. Since she was the last appointment of the day, the doctor could fit in a full exam. Juno had a small infection from the foxtail and the doctor recommended a 7-day course of antibiotics because foxtails also carry many bacterial infections. I had no idea. Again, Juno is saved by a simple early treatment of antibiotics. A short term course of antibiotics is preferable to a 5-day stay in the hospital she had in 2009 for an almost fatal, unknown-at-the-time infection that was 4-years later identified as Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever tick disease.
Why can’t our healthcare system be as good as Juno’s veterinarians?
First hearing of foxtails, just read it's mostly a west coast thing but similarly Lyme is considered an east coast thing, and we know that's not true. Our pointer, Piper, was diagnosed with Lyme from her routine yearly blood work. We had no idea as she seemed fine, but after hearing results we did remember the occasional limp and slight lethargy, chalked up to aggressive ball catching. Perhaps humans should have Lyme and other insidious infections screened in preventative blood workups, although insurance would not cover. Funny how we pay for our dogs to be routinely checked, but won't pay out of pocket for ourselves.
Juno! You're lucky your mom was checking efurry inch of your body!! I'd be glad to help.
-Otto
So glad you discovered the foxtail and were able to get Juno treated!
You have no idea how many times I've asked the same question. In fact, I told one of the vet techs that the next time I have to have blood drawn, I want her to take it. 🙂
KZK
I repeatedly ask the same question as the title of this post. My vets are so awesome in helping my dogs. When an issue comes up, they are all over it. The most recent example was R's elbow getting worse. My vet was emailing specialists and cc:ing me on all the emails within a couple of hours of seeing her. Amazing. Why do so many doctors become apathetic and difficult to interact with?
I hope that you are feeling better sometime soon.
No kidding. Fi and Abby even have better health insurance than we do! 😉 And ugh. Foxtails are evil buggers.
I'm glad you found it and that she's okay!! Those foxtails are scary...