Nov 26, 2010
Thankful Caeli is alive!!
Was it a scorpion or a spider?
How many lives does that girl have? Was it not enough that she gave us a good scare in Acapulco with kissing the poisonous frog? Not really because then she decided to have a go around with a tarantula! She was extremely lucky to survive that one! Then again yesterday she put fear into our hearts. Colin happened to notice that she was rubbing her face on the carpet. When he looked closer he saw that her face was swollen. In fact it was so swollen that her lips were almost 3 inches wide on either side of her clown like nose and felt like hard rubber.
She appeared so swollen that I thought her nose might burst! Obviously she was in distress and she was getting worse. First thing I did was shove a Claritin into her which was not easy with the huge lips. This has worked in the past when one of the dogs has received an insect bite. However Caeli’s situation seemed somewhat extreme. We tried a Benedryl tablet which sort of melted on her tongue. Finally I found some liquid Benedryl and gave her 5 ml orally with a syringe.
By the time I called the vet ( wonderful Dr. Susan Wales) in Canada, Caeli’s face seemed to have stopped getting larger but was not receeding. We gave her some Prednisone and about 90 minutes later I gave her .25g of Dexamethasone as she was starting to whimper and try to rub her face. This stuff is 5 years old but finally we could see the swelling go down a bit. We also used ice compresses on her face. Six and 1/2 hours later she was still visibly swollen. Whatever bit her had some strong venom.
Prior to the crisis we were in the midst of preparing to attend a gala gala due here in the park. Still not sure that we would attend, we finished our preperations and decided to go as we were just one RV over and would keep checking on the girls every 15 minutes. Just as we were ready to leave another set of friends dropped by….too much all at once. We sorted it all out and managed to have a good time at the party.
RV1 Gala complete with stuck pick up in the sand on extreme mid left. Photo by Gary.
Actually by then I needed to sit and have some vino! It was a great party with lots of delicious foods to sample and even two wonderful desserts. The noseeums came out in full force at sunset and soon we were back home. Caeli was cuddled and loved all night.
Another crisis in paradise averted! This morning Caeli seems fine, just tired.
<< Older Posts Home Newer Posts >>
Hmmm mischievous dogs , but can be lucky with the help of a good nurse, glad all is well.
So glad Caeli is fine, she has nine lives like a cat!!
Wow….what a frightening scene!!
Looks like you cary quite a pharmacy with you. We have no pets but Carol (ret RN) prepares us with meds peior to our trips south but hadn’t given thought to anti inflamatorv drugs like benadryl etc.. She believes the liquid ben is a must have.
Thanks to yout reporting this experience we will be better prepared.