The Unforeseen Affliction

Hi Everyone,

I haven't been posting as much because I recently started a full-time contracting job and am in the middle of redesign of a website that is pretty work-intensive. With my schedule on overload right now, I'm going to try to blog on the weekends only until I finish this website.

The Mysterious Bulge

Which brings me to today's topic. On Monday, I came home from work and went to greet Gigi. While I was petting her on the back of the neck, I hear a tiny cry from her. I felt around and felt a hard lump that was about three inches long. It didn't help that she didn't have much of an appetite either.

My first thought is the lump came as a result of Homer's roughhousing. He loves to play with Gigi because she's so easygoing and she's only a year older than he is. However, because Gigi is so docile, Homer never knows when to let up.

Originally, I heard that dogs will tend to get a little rough but they monitor themselves and one will tell the other when it has had enough. Yet sometimes that isn't the case. As it turned out, with Gigi's curly hair, it was hard to notice the lump was there and when it actually appeared.

Time For A Vet Visit

I wound up taking her to the vet with my mom today. We also brought Cookie for her routine shots. The doctor said that bulge was soft in some parts and hard in other parts. After taking a blood sample, it was obvious that it was an infection.

The doctor took Gigi into another room to drain the pus and excess blood from the affected area. After 15 minutes, she came back and told us that she had to send the samples out to be tested. There were two types of infections: anaerobic infections (which are caused by a bite) and aerobic infections (which comes from within the dog itself).

While it isn't 100% certain that Gigi's infection is from Homer, it was a huge wake-up call for me. Since Homer seems to pick on Gigi when I come home, I have to watch him much more closely. He's come a long way since we've first had him, but he still has some time till he matures.

The Road Ahead For Gigi

The doctor gave us these steps to take with Gigi:

1. Give her antibacterial medication for the next two weeks.
2. Watch her so she doesn't scratch it. She was itchy at the vet office, so I had to really watch her.
3. Get her a t-shirt! Because she is itching from the infection clearing out, it's best for her to wear a t-shirt. Also, since Homer has such a strong nose and tends to lick, it would make it harder for him to do that.

Heading for Healing

I went to the pet store and picked up three t-shirts for Gigi. It was even better that they were on sale. The red one that you see in the picture says "What part of woof don't you understand?"

One thing I noticed is that the incision came very close to her collar. Until the wound recovers, I'll be keeping the collar attached to the leash, since she's so well-behaved in the house. Right now, Gigi is resting comfortably and living a dog's life.

Accentuating the Positive!

Cookie's weight is down to 26.3 pounds (11.9 kg) and is in excellent health. I really have to step up her teeth brushing because she seems to get tartar easily. Still, the weight loss is reason to celebrate.

Gigi's infection will heal in the next couple of weeks, and she'll be able to make a 100%recovery.

Let's Discuss!

Have you ever had a mystery illness happen to your dog?