Monday, October 9, 2017

Foxtails are dangerous to dogs as Bounce will affirm

These foxtail plants look harmless but beware; they can injure dogs. My dog Bounce sniffed one on the sidewalk while on a walk with me last week and he sneezed right away. He intermittently sneezed and shook his head for a couple days and finally had surgery to remove it on Oct. 4. The veterinarian explained that foxtails have tiny barbs so can not be easily removed and they keep going further in. Of course the surgery required anesthesia so she cleaned his teeth too, while he was "out". When I picked up Bounce at 5:30 that afternoon she showed me the foxtail she removed from his nasal passages.
He is all peppy and well today, hurray. That was 800 dollars well spent for my dear little Bounce.
A friend left a comment here telling me that her dog had a foxtail in its ear, and another that one entered through the skin on her dog's chest and it entered a lung! Surgery was successful in both those cases and for Bounce. As the saying goes about these benign looking seed heads, "for want of a nail the horse was lost", tiny problems can become huge!
On Oct. 3 I got a phone call that my step mother (age 84) had died, and I cried a lot. Oct. 4, 5, and 6 men were arriving at my house to put in new floors in 3 rooms. I couldn't cope so my older son stepped in and called the vet, and took off work Thursday morning to take Bounce in for surgery, which enabled me to go to Griefshare, where I cried a LOT and ladies gave me lots of support, kleenex and a hug or two. Meanwhile the new floors were installed.
So that is my week last week.
On the up side, the weather is lovely, my favorite temperature of mid seventies, and the new floors look very handsome indeed. And I have to say, Bounce is very Bouncy.

19 comments:

Inger said...

I'm so sorry for your loss and hope your Bounce will make you feel better. Dogs are so good at that.

kath001 said...

So sorry for your loss and hard week. I don't think we have foxtails here, and I'm now glad about that. Porcupine quills are much the same with barbs that work deep into the body. Daughter has had her four dogs ALL full of quills at the same time...twice. Not fun or cheap. One of them had a lung collapse when a quill went deep.

Glad that Bounce is bouncing! :)

Mari said...

Aww Terra - that is a lot for one week. So glad Bounce is back to being bouncy and your floors are looking good - and also kids that help!
I'm so sorry about the loss of your step-mom.

liparifam said...

Good heavens - when it rains it pours :( So sorry for your loss. Glad Bounce is okay, those foxtails are horrific! Our setter Boo had one burrow into her abdomen some years ago and cause a big problem, also requiring surgery. Enjoy your new floors and hopefully some relaxation...

Blondie's Journal said...

What an upheaval of a week. All my condolences on the passing of your step mother. And poor Bounce. I've never heard of a foxtail, wondering if we have them in the Midwest.

Post some pics of your new floors. I bet you love them!

Jane x

Kay said...

Oh my gosh! I had no idea. I'm going to have to tell my son about this. Thanks for the warning.

Jo said...

Oh my word, Terra. Imagine that with Bounce sniffing at the foxtails he had to have surgery. We pay a lot for vets but your bill seems very high. I always feel it's well worth it to help alliviate suffering for our furbabies though! I'm so sorry for you loss. Thank goodness you have a supportive and practical son who stepped in to help with Bounce' vet visit and oversee the floor laying while you went to Griefshare. Thanks for visiting my blog. I want to see if I can follow you somehow. Greetings Jo

FlowerLady Lorraine said...

Dear Terra ~ So sorry for the loss of your step-mom. I'm glad you had your grief-share group during this time.

Poor Bounce ~ Glad he's back to his old self now.

Hope your new floors are all done.

Have a great week ~ FlowerLady

Starting Over, Accepting Changes - Maybe said...

What a sad and difficult week you had. It was lovely that your son stepped up to help you.

Kim said...

Oh dear I am so sorry for the loss of your mother! What a week....I never knew that about the foxtail. Glad Bounce is back!

only slightly confused said...

That was a week for the record books.....my condolences on your loss...congrats on the new floors and thank goodness Bounce is Bouncey again.

Living Alone in Your 60's said...

Life is a funny old thing with rubs of good and bad. Sorry for your loss. I hope Bounce makes a speedy recovery, I'm sure he is a comfort to you.

Lin said...

Aw, gees. That is just too much. I can see why you cried. I hope that helped and the grief team was there for you. I'm glad you have that support.

Hang in there! This too shall pass!

John Going Gently said...

So sorry but thank you for the heads up x

Wanda said...

Oh my I'm so sorry for the loss of your step mother. And on top of that to have the problem with Bounce. Last year Molly got one of those foxtails in her eye..they were able to get it out before it went in too deep.

You will be in my thoughts and prayers.

diane b said...

Por Bounce! I'm glad he is all fixed now. Those Foxtails are dangerous. We have a similar grass which has a seed pod that burrows into the skin of sheep and kills them. So sheep farmers stay away from the areas where the seeds grow. So sorry to hear about your loss.

Pamela M. Steiner said...

Oh, bless your heart...you have had quite a week of it. So sorry to hear about your step-mother, and praying that God will comfort your heart and soul during this time of continued grief. So thankful for sons that could step in and take charge for you during this time...what a blessing! So thankful also that Bounce is now okay...but what a crazy thing! Who would have known? So glad you had him checked out. Praying things will calm down now for you...and that you can enjoy your new floors as well. Enjoy fall weather...sounds lovely. Hugs to you my friend.

Debbie said...

this is my favorite time of year, the weather is so beautiful. poor bounce but what great information for dog owners, i had no idea!! i too am sorry for your great loss!!

Cheapchick said...

So glad Bounce was ok, albeit you a much lighter wallet.