September 13, 2015

A Puffy-Faced Puppy

We were away last week on vacation so took a little bloggy break. Missed you guys! Catching up on recent mischief today, and hopefully I'll get around to sharing our vaca pics soon!

Some of you may have seen this on Facebook, but recently, Rita was happily hanging out on the deck outside, as she often likes to do...

...and we were inside eating breakfast and getting ready to start the week, when she came in and the hubs noticed she looked a "little funny." As we sat there, her right eye got more and more swollen.
Major swelling all around her eye
I posted the above pic on Facebook and asked for some advice. Folks said to give her a Benadryl and keep an eye on it. So, I gave her a pill and we kept checking her face every five seconds. I also checked in with Dr. Google.

Within a few minutes, the left side of her face was also getting puffy. I was worried since her lip was swelling, and Dr. Google said a dog's throat can close up if they have a bad allergic reaction. I called the vet and they said to bring her in. I said I'd be there in 20 or 30 minutes, and the receptionist seemed concerned, but since we moved, we are now much further from our vet. So we had an anxious, long ride to the vet!

Here's Rita is at the vet, 25 minutes later, looking even puffier and looking VERY unhappy.
Unhappy pup with puffy lips, cheek and eyebrow
Poor kid had been so excited to hop in the car, and then we went to the stinkin' vet. (That's Rita's sentiment, not mine. I like our vet.) And she'd just been there for her annual checkup, so she was especially bummed out. Rita calls mischief on faking her out and making her think we were going somewhere fun.

The vet looked for a bee stinger but couldn't find one. I'm pretty sure it was a spider bite. (I call mischief on that spider!) Rita's a drama queen, so I think if it was a bee sting, the whole neighborhood would have heard her scream!

They gave her a steroid shot and I had to leave her there for a couple of hours for observation, but luckily she was fine when I went to get her.

Now, I probably could have just waited longer after the Benadryl to see what happened but I decided to take her in for various reasons:
1. Better safe than sorry!
2. She'd never been stung/bitten before, so I didn't know how she'd react and wanted to err on the side of caution.
3. We recently had a scorpion in our house (!) and I discovered they are common here and while mainly just painful for humans they can be deadly for pups, so I was worried it was maybe a scorpion - although I did figure she would have screamed if it was.

If this happens again, I'll probably be more inclined to wait and see - unless she puffs up really quickly. Now I know she's allergic, but not deathly so, and I also know that I can give her two Benadryl at a time. (The vet said that for her weight, ~45lbs, two is fine.)

The only remaining question is.... should I switch to a vet that's closer to our house??

I might do some research. There are 2 vet offices that are only about 5 minutes from our house, versus our current vet who is 20-30 minutes away depending on traffic. I really like our vet, but when he retires, I might have to think about moving to someone closer!

What do you think? Would you stick with the vet you know, or get one closer to your house?

Thanks to Snoopy’s Dog Blog, Alfie’s Blog, and My Brown Newfies for hosting Monday Mischief! Visit My Brown Newfies to see the other blogs in the hop!

38 comments:

  1. Poor Rita!! Glad she s ok! I had to change vets as the one who is closest is not really small animal friendly and I was increasingly alarmed at their lack of care! So I changed to one about 15 mins away (depending on traffic) and am very pleased that I did! You could always visit the closer vets to check them out I guess! Ask around etc! Hugs, Caro for Austin :-)

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    1. Yeah, I might ask around and read some reviews online and what not, since the vet we like at our practice is retiring soon. Glad you found a vet you like!

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  2. I would have done the very dame thing! Glad Rita's ok. Our vet lives blocks from the house - I like that benefit. But I love her more. That being said, if she was a little further away, I still would drive the distance. Take care my friend. You did good!

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    1. It's definitely worth the drive to have a vet you trust - just worrisome when time might make a difference! How nice that your vet lives so close to you!

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  3. All vets are not created equal. I'd stick with the one you know and trust.

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    1. Mikght ask around but will probably stick with this vet - at least until he retires.

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  4. Poor poor Rita. I know how scary it is to have a dog with allergic reactions. Our first boxer woke up one morning in hives - I mean 50-60 welts all over his body. It also needed a shot, which helped everything, but it was terribly scary. As we get older, we now know what to give our dogs - and always keep Benedryl and Pepto on hand. I would stick with the vet you know. It seems like a long way when you are in crisis, but probably isn't that far in reality when things are calmer. Follow your gut, we usually know what's best for our pups. Glad Rita is better.

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    1. Goodness, how scary about your boxer! And, yeah, it doesn't seem far when things are fine. It was really perfect though when our last house was only 10 min away.

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  5. So scary! And she does look pretty bummed out in the photo. I'm glad she is OK now.

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  6. Can't wait to see your vaca photos!
    Poor Rita, hope she isn't traumatized :(

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    1. She was pretty annoyed about having to go to the vet twice in one month! She's usually a once/year girl!

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  7. Oh no, poor girl! Hope she recovers soon.

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  8. If you've found a vet you love, stick with them. That said, find an emergency vet close to home. Print out Rita's vet records and keep them handy, so the ER vet will know her history.

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    1. The emergency vet is unfortunately also 20 or 30 min depending on traffic. There's a regular vet 5 min from our house, but no close emergency places.

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  9. My vet clinic is just down the street and there are five veterinarians working there. I'm always asked which one I want, but with four dogs i have on purpose seen them all and I like them all. Which is a roundabout way of saying I want to have more than one vet I know and trust.

    My advice is to keep your far away vet, get a close by vet, and get three more dogs. :)

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    1. lol. Great advice! :)

      Actually, our vet also has 4 or 5 vets there. I almost always see the same one but as he's retiring I should start trying out the other folks. There's another one there who was great with our Abby, so maybe we'll start seeing him again once the current vet retires.

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  10. We live 20 minutes away from our vet. We keep a few emergency supplies on hand and head in when needed. They know we are a ways away and work with us in being prepared and talking over the phone.

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    1. We should probably get a good stash of emergency supplies and then just not sweat the 20 min. It's usually never a problem. Just frustrating when you're in a hurry and there's traffic!

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  11. I once switched to a vet that was only a mile away - big mistake. Since even the ER vet is about 20-30 minutes away - I don't sweat it. That's the price to pay for a vet I can trust and B likes.

    And yikes on the swelling!! I remember coming home from work one day and B had a lump on her head. I have no idea what caused it, but thankfully, it didn't get any worse and in a couple of hours had diminished.

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    1. Sounds like folks overwhelmingly favor going to someone you trust rather than who's closest. We've had some bad vets in our day, and we've been with a good one for so long that I forgot what that was like!

      That's good that her swelling didn't get worse. It really worried me with Rita when her mouth started to swell. Luckily she was fine!

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  12. I'm glad she's OK! Mr. N is allergic to bee stings so I'm always super paranoid. We have a close vet and a far vet. The far vet, we go to for wellness exams and the close one for small emergencies.

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    1. Oh, that's scary. My friend's dog is also allergic to bee stings so she has to be very careful as well! Yeah, I think checking out the 2 small vets near us for emergencies will be the way to go - but stick with our regular vet for everything else. There's a great emergency place here in SD, but it's 20-30 min away as well.

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  13. I would have erred on the side of caution too, and we're so glad Rita is OK! We are lucky our vet is close and that we like him too. It's nice to stick with what you know, especially if you're happy, but on the other hand the ones that are closer might be perfectly good too. But I would tend to stay where I'm happy, and worry about switching when your current one retires.

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    1. I'm going to be bummed when he retires. He's such a nice man!

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  14. Poor Rita! How scary! I'm glad she's okay now!

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    1. It was scary! I was worried on the car ride, but luckily it was all fine.

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  15. Katie and I have both had bee stings on our paws that swelled a bit, but no reactions except a bit of pain. Glad Rita is okay and it was nothing serious.

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    1. That's good that you girls aren't super allergic! But it's no fun to get stung!

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  16. We drive an hour to see the vet we know now. For a true emergency we might go closer, but most likely would call our vet, as he is a friend and we have his home number if he isn't at the clinic!

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  17. Reg says he would have kissed Rita's boo-boo's and made them all better.

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  18. Our vet is about 45 minutes away in good traffic, but I wouldn't hesitate to use the local emergency vet if I thought Raven's life was in danger (like not being able to breathe!). Allergic reactions can be unpredictable and severe, so you may want to consider having some sort of relationship with a local vet. Even if you want to stay with your current vet, I'd contact the local vets and be up-front about what your needs regarding Rita's allergy and see if they're willing to help you. If they require you to do an annual exam so you can maintain a relationship, the cost may be well worth the peace of mind knowing you can take Rita there for a serious allergic reaction. I'm glad Rita was ok.

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  19. I loved our vet who was 45 minutes away, but my cats don't travel well, and it became almost cruel to make them travel so far. I have a new vet who is 5 minutes away who I love as much (both vets know each other and recommend each other so it worked out.)

    I would have done the same thing, BTW. Better safe than sorry. Let a vet -- and expert -- determine what's wrong and what's to do. It may be expensive but I never want to have to say, "If I only..."

    --Wags (and purrs) from Life with Dogs and Cats

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  20. I am glad Rita is OK. Very scary. Maybe pick a vet closer for emergencies and the farther one for checkups and such. We drive almost 1/2 hour to the vet. It is clear across town. Worth it to have a vet we trust. If we need an ER vet, it is even farther. Again it is worth it to me to go to a vet we trust. BUT if it was an emergency and time was important, I would not hesitate to go to a closer vet.

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  21. hello rita its dennis the vizsla dog hay this seems to be a bad week for lady dogs!!! dada wuz wurreed that a blak widow had bittin my sister saya wen her eer swelld up on friday!!! i am glad yoo ar feeling better!!!! egad skorpions!!! ok bye

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  22. oh no poor her. Glad you took her in to see the vet. I would stick with the one you like and trust even if it means driving a bit further.

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  23. I'm glad Rita was okay. Choosing a vet is SO hard! I love our vet and she is about 20 minutes away, which isn't too bad unless there's an emergency situation. BUT the emergency vet is about 10 minutes away and if I HAD to, I'd use them.

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