I’ve been working on a post about the boys’ Halloween costumes – and if you follow on Instagram, you saw Emmett trying on one option last night – but UGH! Fun is on hold.
If you’ve been reading for a while, you know Cooper has a sensitive little system. He’s allergic to everything – and that includes, as we discovered this morning, fire ants.
He got attacked in the yard. His face started to swell. He threw up twice then sort of staggered around the kitchen. Here’s my baby just before his eyes swelled shut.
Wahh!! By the time we got there, he had all these tiny little bumps under his eyes and on top of his nose. Anyway, they’re keeping him at the animal hospital, and I’m in a panic.
I’ll finish the Halloween post this weekend, including a delightful photoshoot of my guys (and gal!) trying on 7 different costumes! In the meantime, I’m going to go put the vet’s office on speed dial so I can check on him every hour on the hour!
Has your dog experienced anything like this before? What kind of allergies do you deal with?
UPDATE: Cooper is back home from the animal hospital! He get dexamethasone and diphenhydramine injections, and we have a prescription to give him every four hours for the next 24. His face seems back to normal, and the vet said, “He can see again!” I’m feeling incredibly grateful. What a scare. Thank you for all the kind words and wishes!!!
sofia says
10•03•13 at 1:01 pmpoor little cooper, I hope he’s ok. fire any bites can be quite bad, I react so badly to them. were you able to get any Benadryl into him before the drive? let us know how he’s doing when you can
speedy recovery little guy
Maggie says
10•03•13 at 9:28 pmThank you so much, Sof. Thankfully he’s home and resting. It was a horrifying experience! Not sure what to do for the future… We live in a SMALL town now, so I’m terrified of something like this happening at night or on the weekends when no vets are open! Sigh…
Phyllis Sims says
10•03•13 at 1:03 pmSo sorry about Cooper. Keep us posted on his progress. Said a little prayer for Coop.
Maggie says
10•03•13 at 9:29 pmThanks for the prayers, Phyllis. It was really scary for both of us. On the drive to the vet, he started coughing and drooling, and I was terrified of his throat closing before I got there. All in all, I’m feeling so incredibly grateful right now!! Sincerely, thank you for your prayer!
Abby (Doggerel) says
10•03•13 at 1:29 pm🙁 Poor guy! That sounds terrible. I hope the vet is able to help!
Maggie says
10•03•13 at 9:30 pmThanks, Abby! The vet worked miracles. Well, the vet and mainlining super strong antihistamines! 🙂 He’s home and zonked after his traumatic day.
Paris says
10•03•13 at 3:36 pmPoor Cooper!! Our Tiki had a similar incident last year. Her face swelled up, and she was vomiting; she also had hives on her belly. We rushed her to the vet, and they found a wasp sting INSIDE her mouth! She spent a day on an IV at the vet’s office. Now I worry every time I see a wasp around her. I’m so glad to hear that Cooper’s doing better…that’s scary!!
Maggie says
10•03•13 at 9:31 pmOh, my gosh!! How awful for Tiki… and for you!! That’s really scary because you wouldn’t have known the sting was in her mouth. Yeesh. These dogs love to give us some big scares, huh?
Debra says
10•03•13 at 4:28 pmAck! What a horrible feeling, for the both of you. Glad he is on the mend.
Maggie says
10•03•13 at 9:32 pmThanks, Debra! He seems to be over it… curled up in bed with his brothers. Me on the other hand? Whoo. It’s going to take a while before this scare subsides! Just feeling grateful for now!
Ashley says
10•04•13 at 8:17 amPoor Cooper! Yes! My Riggins also seems to be allergic to everything! This week, allergies contributed to a yeast infection in his ear and conjunctivitis in his eye! I hope you and Cooper are feeling better!!!
tango-toller says
10•04•13 at 8:17 amBenadryl does indeed work wonders. One of my dogs instantly flames up when eating a peanut that our neighbors feed squirrels with. (Just make sure it is Xylitol free, as that’s purported to be toxic.) Good luck Cooper!
Laura says
10•04•13 at 10:27 amUgh, poor guy. Scary and I hope he feels better. We just did an out of town agility trial (she did great) and our golden mix has come home itchy, I’m guesssing it’s from the hotels, since the trial site is dirt and concrete. Bendryl works wonders for the itchies, but I feel bad for her. Our boy dog had the worst allergies a few years ago, broke out in spots ( that got infected) and lost hair, after we redid the yard with gravel and dog friendly mulch it hasn’t happened since. All of ours are getting fish oil pills in breakfast per our vet’s recommendations.
Jan K says
10•04•13 at 5:55 pmOh no, I am so glad Cooper is OK. I saw your original post on Facebook yesterday, but never saw the follow up to see how bad it became. I can only imagine how scary that must have been for you. I remember when visiting relatives in Texas they warned us about fire ants but I never realized it could be that bad. It’s not like you can teach a dog what to look for to avoid them! Do they make epi-pens for dogs? We have been lucky not to have allergy issues with ours (knock wood), but I know I would totally panic if it happened.
david says
10•05•13 at 11:27 amI’m glad cooper is ok! if you want a cheap hand painted oil painting by me of your dog cooper, I would be happy to do it. He is a truly beautiful dog, as I am just starting my business of selling my pet portraits, I would be happy to heavily discount the painting. Let me know if you are interested and check out my website petsinportrait.com
Kimberly Gauthier says
10•06•13 at 5:15 amI’m so sorry. That’s got to be very scary. I don’t think we have fire ants where I live. Sydney and Rigo stumbled on a underground beehive when they were younger and Sydney got the brunt of the bee stings, but no allergic reaction, thank heavens. This was before I knew that dogs could have allergies so it really could have been bad.
I’m so glad that you knew what you were seeing and acted.