Argh (poorly dog content)

RandallFlagg

Money sent. I hope he gets well soon.

Lord_Spanielchip

I know only too well what we would do to make sure our four legged friends are sorted so there’s another few quid in the pot. Fingers crossed for a speedy recovery.

Bridgehouse

Quick update from Lee: 

He’s off to see Dutch at the vets. He’s being kept in overnight (Dutch, not Lee!) and it looks like there’s no internal damage but still possibility of hairline fractures and quite a bit of bruising - could have been worse, but still tlc needed. 

Lee’s going to post later on when he’s back but didn’t want to post a short post and run - he’d much rather give a proper update when he’s back. 

mgaw

fingers crossed, was totally gutted when my dog died 

DB1

Poor Dutch - sorry if I'm missing the obvious, but was this caused by another snap from Mac? If so, they might have to separated at night, mightn't they? Poor little chap - I've just had my dog's all-clear from a cancer op, and footed a not inconsiderable four-figure bill, but we do it because we love them. I hate people who ill-treat animals, so well done for giving him a good home. Also, I've just sold a guitar thanks to the facility offered free on here, so am happy to chip in on both counts (the animal-loving bit and the grateful-for-the-facility bit). I'm rubbish with PayPal, but will sort something out.

Phil_aka_Pip

Best wishes to Dutch and Lee. Donation sent

digitalscream

OK, first off...I honestly can't thank all of you enough. This has been a life-saver - both figuratively and literally. The folk at work often joke about how I have the worst luck of anybody they know, but this run has been particularly bad. I've said in the past how proud I am of this community that everyone comes together to help those in need, but I really never thought I'd be the one on the other end of it!

Poor little Dutch has had a rough run of it, but the vets have a handle on it, so the first update is - they're confident he's going to be OK! A massive (!) part of the problem is that it's possible he's got hairline fractures in his ribs, but Chihuahua bones are so damn fine that it's almost impossible to tell without incredibly detailed imaging. With that said, they're pretty sure there aren't any breaks in his ribs, which is an excellent sign. Also, his leg's OK.

The worrying part is that the bruising is really excessive, more than they've ever seen in a dog that small. It's worse around the puncture wounds, obviously, but he's in a lot of pain - to the point where they've got him on very strong opioids to make him comfortable while he heals. He's alert (well, as alert as you can be while pretty stoned) and looking around, and he's walking around their garden, but he's very hunched over while doing so; the only time he's ever been like that is when he broke his jaw.

They're keeping him in overnight so they can keep him on the pain medication, and there's a fair chance that he's going to be in for another night after that too. The working theory at the moment is that there might be soft tissue (muscle/tendon) damage as well, which could well mean physio once he's over the initial hump. It could well be a long road to recovery

In terms of going forward, we've worked out a way that we can avoid this in future - we have an Akita-sized cage downstairs that they all share during the day (they take it in turns, although Coco and Peanut often lie in there together), so he can sleep in there at night. Obviously we'll have to put a puppy pad down (the main reason he goes a-wandering in the night is to pee somewhere in the house without waking us up), but I'm pretty sure he'll be cool with it because he's not a fan of the other dogs getting in his personal space without invitation anyway.

Right, I'm going to go and try to get some sleep, given that I've been up since 3am. Thank you again to everyone...I genuinely don't know what we've have done without you guys!

ronnyb

Contribution sent from Mr and Mrs Ronny.

DB1

That's good news in the main, bless him. Keep going with the updates and feel more than free to PM or anything - I'm a sucker for dogs (and animals in general), as loads of us seem to be. :-)  We also seem to be more than aware of how much bloody vets bills cost, so just shout if necessary!

Snags

Not sure where you are in the country, but would the semi-permanent loan of another dog crate be useful? We've got at least one, possibly two, both sized for large dogs (Bernese Mountain Dog).

mrkb

Snags said:

Not sure where you are in the country, but would the semi-permanent loan of another dog crate be useful? We've got at least one, possibly two, both sized for large dogs (Bernese Mountain Dog).

Think he’s Stamford way. If needed I can get it up to Northampton on Sunday - that’s most of the way there.

Bridgehouse

mrkb said:

Snags said:

Not sure where you are in the country, but would the semi-permanent loan of another dog crate be useful? We've got at least one, possibly two, both sized for large dogs (Bernese Mountain Dog).

Think he’s Stamford way. If needed I can get it up to Northampton on Sunday - that’s most of the way there.

He’s near me, and I have a spare huge crate - but he’s ok for crates at the mo as I offered earlier

digitalscream

Yes, we're OK for crates at the moment - in fact, I'm not entirely sure we have enough room for another giant one! Very much appreciate the offer, though, and if things change I may take you up on it!

And now, for something a bit different, I have a message from the wife...

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Hi Everyone,

Lee's wife here (the one he banned from the forum....very rude). I'd like to thank you all for you very generous support over the past 24 hours. To say this year has been a bit hellish would be an understatement and I am so proud of how my hubs has kept it all together, so far team Daffern has  tackled since Jan;

    - My mum being very ill and waiting for serious hear surgery which has been cancelled 3 times

    - Having to look after her  spoilt dog who likes to piss outside lee's office all the time...

    - Old boy Mac (who hates Lee) has cost over £1000 at the vets since Jan

    - To top it all off Lee's grandparents are not doing too well at all.

However its times like this that show you that every cloud has a silver lining and we're overwhelmed with the support from you all, I am the positive one in the team.

So thank you very very much, we don't know what we'd have done without you

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

digitalscream

UPDATE: He's home!



He's only just had his pain med injection, so he's a bit stoned there. He's had a wander around the garden, and the others know something's up so they're being very gentle around him. He's still hunched over and he's got his back legs pointed outwards (which, for him, is a sign of discomfort), but he's not just trudging around so that's a great sign.

Taking him back to the vet this evening for them to see how he's doing - they wanted to see if being at home would speed up his recovery. We've got more anti-inflammatory meds for him, as well as antibiotics for the puncture wounds. There's a lot of bruising around his leg, his ribs and (to a lesser degree) his spine, but that's as expected and that should subside over the next week or so. Then, if he's still not walking 100% right, it's likely to be physio.

Just glad to have him back

Bridgehouse

@digitalscream - you need to put an “aaah” fret on the dev list for the new platform

DB1

Bless him, it's so distressing to see them in discomfort or unwell. Give him a gentle pat from me. Hope he recovers quickly, and keep us informed. Vet's bills are an absolute horror, so I feel your pain, but of course it's his that counts, so chin up little fellow. (Dutch!)

Emp_Fab

So what exactly happened to him?  I got it that your husky/collie went for him and broke his jaw recently, but how have these new injuries come about?  Surely the same dog didn't attack him again?

digitalscream

Emp_Fab said:

So what exactly happened to him?  I got it that your husky/collie went for him and broke his jaw recently, but how have these new injuries come about?  Surely the same dog didn't attack him again?

Exactly the same thing again - it's not that Mac (the collie cross) attacked him deliberately, though. Mac sleeps in the doorway of our bedroom, and Dutch likes to go wandering in the night - Mac, however, is mostly deaf and so when Dutch brushed past him he panicked and went into "self-defence" mode.

It'll suck, but the only way to be safe is for Dutch to sleep downstairs in the Akita-sized cage None of the others wander around at night, so that's basically it.

brucegill

Oh man. Feel for you guys. Hope he gets well soon. I can highly recommend Arnica pills (homeopathic), for bruising. Can be taken with all his other meds etc and harmless, so could be worth a go. Can send you some if it’s something you’d try. Or a link to a good supplier. Appreciate homeopathic stuff isn’t for everyone though. But have taken them myself and also given them to the dogs and always helped. 

Emp_Fab

@digitalscream How’s progress?