hi! In these last summer days..

[silvia]

Hi There! sounds a bit quiet recently, probably most of us are on holiday , too busy enjoying the summer days : )

just to say hi! we are back in the UK after 3 weeks camping in Corsica and Oberon was over the moon. Unfortunately, wild days come with nasty things as well - a awful grass seed get stacked between the fingers in the front paw and cause an infection. The vet in Corsica did a search under anesthetic but wasnt able to find the culprit, so we have been given a corse of antibiotics with the hope that the seed went out spontaneously. Now, Oberon responded well and is now walking completely normally. I am not sure: what do we have to watch to understand if the seed is still travelling inside the body???? have a lovely summer everyone! 

XXX

[Cornelia]

Hi Silvia! I saw the wrapped paw on the photo - poor Oberon:-(. But did you actually see that it was indeed a grass seed or just assume that it must have been? I don't know how clean it is in Corsica but I found the paths and beaches in Sardinia (and many other places!) quite dirty! Many broken glass bottles and rusty old bear cans just lying everywhere! It could have been that he just stepped into something and got a tiny cut or that the tissue of his paw tore due to the heat. It does not take much to get an infection. Let's hope there is no seed still inside! Best wishes, C & J xxx

[James Doran]

Hi Silvia. Glad you had a nice holiday & nice to hear from you. Hope Oberon's paw is completely better soon! It is quiet on ES! Sincerest regards & best wishes.

[human friend]

We have the coldest winter in 22 years here, right now, not summer! I wouldn't worry if your dog is walking normally and the infection is gone.

[silvia]

Hi everyone, and thanks. You are right Cornelia: in the end they didnt found it, so it may be anything : (((

Unfortunately Oberon is now back to the vet. Sunday he was limping a bit and I have  found a big lump below his paw.. It turned to be an absess (well, thanks God: with lumps I am always scared!), and perhaps is the same awful grass seed that moved from the finger to the bottom of the paw..

At moment Oberon is in the theatre, under anesthetic again, so the vet will clean the infection and search for the foreign body.. they plan to do an ultrasound around the area as well... but we have been told that, if is only a tiny fragment, sometimes is not seen, and the only solution is to flush and clean the whole area in the hope that it goes away..

i really hope they will find it!!!!!!!!!!!

[Cornelia]

Oh dear - I feel for you and really hope they find the culprit or managed to flush everything out!!! I just brought Joy home from the clinic - she was on a drip for two nights because of an acute gastric enteritis. She was not even drinking anymore when I brought her in, was vomiting blood, and instead of poo there was a water fountain coming out the rear end. She was loosing weight rapidly and I have never seen her so poorly. So we brought her in late Sunday night. She's now her old self again, pulling on the leash, looking for cats and begging for food. Still on the thin side weight wise but on the mend. There is always something with our dear four legged friends but there is always hope. If it was indeed the grass seed, causing the abscess, it was at least moving downwards to the bottom of the paw and not upwards. So I hope, it's flushed out now and dear Oberon in on the mend as well!!! A hug from us and kisses from Joy xxx

[silvia]

Thanks a lot everyone! Oberon is home, abscess cleaned and flushed but - sigh- even this time the seed grass has not been found : (((

We have been told that sometimes they are very small (few mm), so even with the US is difficult to see them: we can only hope that this time it went out while flushing the abscess..

Apparently there was a clear path going from the area between the fingers (point of entry) down to the bottom of the paw, showing where the seed has travelled. As Cornelia said, we are lucky that it travelled down (at least so far!!) , but still.. how nasty !

the path was not continuing after the location of the abscess, so there is hope that the fragment was trapped there and went out with the cleaning..

Oberon is today in good mood and not in pain. My real problem is that I dont know what do we need to watch , in case the seed is trapped inside.. I presume the dog will be sick, but at which stage? Is only matter to wait and watch? sigh.. If anyone has ideas or experiences..

thanks and all the best, silvia

ps: Cornelia, such an awful time, POOR JOY!!!! I hope all is over and she will recover asap. There is nothing better than having them back with the good mood , really, is such a relief!!! I am sure the weight is only matter of bit more time : ) keep us posted and thanks!!!!!!!!!

[Cornelia]

Hi Silvia, As I said in my pm to you, I'm astonished, that they found the path from the finger to the bottom of the paw with a seed that tiny! And it might well be that the pressure on the paw and therefore on the seed, caused the abscess and so hopefully, Oberon was lucky that it did so! 

I know by now, that ultrasound is not cheap, but I would talk to the vet and ask, if it would make sense to repeat it in about the same time period that the seed needed to travel from the toe to the bottom of the paw, to make sure, there is still no path going up. Oberon would need no anesthetic for that. On the other hand, would it be possible at all for the seed to do such a turn...? I would also watch for any limping, extended licking of part of the paw or leg or if the paw or leg feels hotter than the other. But that's layman's talk and we gladly have no experience with these nasty grass seeds!

ps: Thanks for your concern for Joy, she's doing well and eating nicely! I'm glad, I never kept her at the lowest end of weight for her size. I always thought an extra kilo comes in handy if anything happens. But rapid loss of weight is often a sign for dehydration and that is dangerous.

Hugs to Oberon!

[Barbara]

Oh poor Oberon!!!! I hope they will find the seed or what ever it is ... Hugs and kisses B+T

[silvia]

Thanks a lot!! actually, I think the path has been seen when they opened and made the incision, more than with the US, so they followed the path with a tiny forcep to search inside and clean it as well.. but Friday we need to see the vet for the bendage so I will certainly ask, is a good idea!

I was also thinking about other imaging tests, as CT scans.. I will ask them!

Glad Joy is recovering and in good mood : ))