08-10-2019, 11:17 PM
Years ago, before Fiona was mine, she started incessantly licking one paw. Her owners were not much concerned, but I kept cleaning it and adding some neosporin, but it became infected and I convinced them she needed to see a vet.
The owner had too much going on, and I said I'd take her.
The vet was like, hmm heres a foxtail in her fur, here's another. hmmmmmm.
She wound up anesthetizing the area while I immobilized her footie and then dug some forceps inside the wound and pulled out a soggy foxtailand a bunch of puss and blood followed, and 2 days later it appeared 99% healed. I was already bonded with this dog but after this vet visit, much more so.
A few years later they were having marital issues, were like: 'Fiona's always been your dog, she loves you, you love her, take her, or we have another family who will.'
I took her even though i thought it a bit cruel to take her from the home and gated yard she grew up in. We both quickly adapted to the new situation.
The foxtails are everywhere near where we reside. I cut em down raked and vaccuumed them up, then it rained again and they grew back 2x as thick. I let her know the worse areas were off limits, which she seemed to understand, and stepped up my inspections of her fur.
A few days ago we are gong for a walk, and she stops in the shade of a tree and lifts her foot to her face. i go over and she rolls on her back and I inspect her foot, spread her paws, and could see nor feel nothing. I got up, so did she and all appeared well, no limp, no signs of distress.
The night before last I see she is licking that same paw's underside. I bust out the 700 lumen headlamp and reading glasses, and trim all her fur in the area she was licking. i see a wound, i clean it with hydrogen peroxide, spread some polysporin on it and make her sleep on my bed where I can insure she does not lick it off.
Next morning it is no better, perhaps worse. I keep it clean, borrow a child's sock to keep it clean and hope for the best.
This morning I peel off the sock, and puss and blood surround the area. Dang.
So I goto the same vet.
Saturday
Doctor is not IN, but could be, for 500$ on top of regular fees, which were over $350 the last foxtail incident. Assistant looks at freshly cleaned wound, and says it is not an emergency, gives recommendation on Vet places nearby that might be open. I goto 3 different vets. The doctors are not in or too busy to check her before closing. One more assistant looks at it and says to continue do what I have been doing and make an appointment for Monday.
These foxtails are barbed burrowers that will keep working themselves deeper. I was not 100% sure it was a foxtail but was suspecting it more and more and another 48 hours for this thing to work its way deeper while infection gets worse, is hardly desirable but short of an 850$ committment, there is little option.
I start cleaning it and the baby's sock every few hours, and trying to limit her motion, and the last time I do so it seems that the same distance as the length of a foxtail body from the main wound, there is a red spot, like a foxtail head was right there pushing against the skin.
I have some friends husband and wife who are a doctor and a nurse. She is a dog person, and dog people love Fiona. Heck, cat people love Fiona. I tell her my suspicions that it is indeed a foxtail and that if I could slice the skin next to the new emerging red spot, I could grab the head of the foxtail and pull it out or push it out with blood and puss like a big zit.
But such a job requires 4 hands.
She was like, well lets take a look. I remove the bootie, clean it again, show her the area all while Fiona keeps pulling her foot away. The most tender spot is apparently the newly developing red spot. I now use reading glasses but did not have them on me. I was manipulating her paws so as to give maximum visual exposure, and then squeezed it at the base like a Zit, and the nurse was like ' that is not her fur!" which i had cut short. I spread her paw pads a bit further apart squeezed a bit harder at the base of the new red spot and she clamped her fingernails together in there and ripped out the foxtail from the back.
I released Fiona and immediately she inspected the softened foxtail on the napkin, and started wagging her tail.
Big relief for both of us.
I hope that was all of it, but a few hours later and the swelling is 90% gone and is no just slightly pink.
I'm keeping it clean and under polysporin and a new kids sock bootie over it overnight.
I'll have to up my inspection schedule while these things are still dry and sharp and attach to anything like velcro and try and clear them from areas she might visit, even though that is like picking fly shit from the pepper.
Dang things are nearly the same exact color as her fur, but I definitely missed one on inspection prewalk and it is my fault this thing burrowed into her footie in between the paw pads.
Bad human!
Bad!
What came out of her paw is on the left, on the right is a new foxtail pulled from the weed itself. I'm hoping the missing 1/3 did not make it inside her footie, but instead sheared off on its way in.
We just went for another walk and there was a new spring in her step, so hopefully that is the case.
The owner had too much going on, and I said I'd take her.
The vet was like, hmm heres a foxtail in her fur, here's another. hmmmmmm.
She wound up anesthetizing the area while I immobilized her footie and then dug some forceps inside the wound and pulled out a soggy foxtailand a bunch of puss and blood followed, and 2 days later it appeared 99% healed. I was already bonded with this dog but after this vet visit, much more so.
A few years later they were having marital issues, were like: 'Fiona's always been your dog, she loves you, you love her, take her, or we have another family who will.'
I took her even though i thought it a bit cruel to take her from the home and gated yard she grew up in. We both quickly adapted to the new situation.
The foxtails are everywhere near where we reside. I cut em down raked and vaccuumed them up, then it rained again and they grew back 2x as thick. I let her know the worse areas were off limits, which she seemed to understand, and stepped up my inspections of her fur.
A few days ago we are gong for a walk, and she stops in the shade of a tree and lifts her foot to her face. i go over and she rolls on her back and I inspect her foot, spread her paws, and could see nor feel nothing. I got up, so did she and all appeared well, no limp, no signs of distress.
The night before last I see she is licking that same paw's underside. I bust out the 700 lumen headlamp and reading glasses, and trim all her fur in the area she was licking. i see a wound, i clean it with hydrogen peroxide, spread some polysporin on it and make her sleep on my bed where I can insure she does not lick it off.
Next morning it is no better, perhaps worse. I keep it clean, borrow a child's sock to keep it clean and hope for the best.
This morning I peel off the sock, and puss and blood surround the area. Dang.
So I goto the same vet.
Saturday
Doctor is not IN, but could be, for 500$ on top of regular fees, which were over $350 the last foxtail incident. Assistant looks at freshly cleaned wound, and says it is not an emergency, gives recommendation on Vet places nearby that might be open. I goto 3 different vets. The doctors are not in or too busy to check her before closing. One more assistant looks at it and says to continue do what I have been doing and make an appointment for Monday.
These foxtails are barbed burrowers that will keep working themselves deeper. I was not 100% sure it was a foxtail but was suspecting it more and more and another 48 hours for this thing to work its way deeper while infection gets worse, is hardly desirable but short of an 850$ committment, there is little option.
I start cleaning it and the baby's sock every few hours, and trying to limit her motion, and the last time I do so it seems that the same distance as the length of a foxtail body from the main wound, there is a red spot, like a foxtail head was right there pushing against the skin.
I have some friends husband and wife who are a doctor and a nurse. She is a dog person, and dog people love Fiona. Heck, cat people love Fiona. I tell her my suspicions that it is indeed a foxtail and that if I could slice the skin next to the new emerging red spot, I could grab the head of the foxtail and pull it out or push it out with blood and puss like a big zit.
But such a job requires 4 hands.
She was like, well lets take a look. I remove the bootie, clean it again, show her the area all while Fiona keeps pulling her foot away. The most tender spot is apparently the newly developing red spot. I now use reading glasses but did not have them on me. I was manipulating her paws so as to give maximum visual exposure, and then squeezed it at the base like a Zit, and the nurse was like ' that is not her fur!" which i had cut short. I spread her paw pads a bit further apart squeezed a bit harder at the base of the new red spot and she clamped her fingernails together in there and ripped out the foxtail from the back.
I released Fiona and immediately she inspected the softened foxtail on the napkin, and started wagging her tail.
Big relief for both of us.
I hope that was all of it, but a few hours later and the swelling is 90% gone and is no just slightly pink.
I'm keeping it clean and under polysporin and a new kids sock bootie over it overnight.
I'll have to up my inspection schedule while these things are still dry and sharp and attach to anything like velcro and try and clear them from areas she might visit, even though that is like picking fly shit from the pepper.
Dang things are nearly the same exact color as her fur, but I definitely missed one on inspection prewalk and it is my fault this thing burrowed into her footie in between the paw pads.
Bad human!
Bad!
What came out of her paw is on the left, on the right is a new foxtail pulled from the weed itself. I'm hoping the missing 1/3 did not make it inside her footie, but instead sheared off on its way in.
We just went for another walk and there was a new spring in her step, so hopefully that is the case.
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