A Bad Scare!~

This day did not start out good:

I let my dog out night before last to potty one more time before bedtime.  She sleeps on a blanket, on the floor, at the foot of my bed.  There is something she gets into in the woods near our pond, I do not know what it is, but she just rolls in it and when she comes in, she stinks (that is putting it mildly) to high heaven!

So, this night, she decides to roll in this foul-smelling stuff again and about gagged all of us when she came in.  It was horrific.

Yesterday, Hubby decided he wanted to bathe her.  We had three different types of pet shampoo onhand, one I got from the vet to control itch, one was a common pet shampoo that kills fleas and ticks that you can buy over the counter, and one is totally something else, Premium, or something like that.  In the end, after reading all the labels, we decided to go with the middle shampoo which you can buy at any retail outlet, including grocery store or pet store. 

We took her outside and hooked her up to a cable.  She has only had one other bath, so she was naturally terrified.  I stayed with her and talked to her very gently and petted her while Hubby did the bathing.  The label said not to get it in your pet's eyes, so we were very careful about that.  She finally settled down somewhat and let us do what we needed to do.  With Mary Jane being part Siberian Husky and part Australian Shepherd, she has a very thick coat.  We managed to get her bathed and rinsed.  We got towels and helped her to dry off somewhat, but not before she shook herself 2-3 times thoroughly soaking me!!!!  A little while later, Hubby and I were watching TV and MJ was in her usual place beside me on the sofa and I noted her licking a place on her leg.

It was a place we had failed to rinse well and I told Hubby about it.  It got a damp washcloth and wiped over the place trying to get as much of the shampoo off of her as I could.  I noticed her licking herself several times.

When we got up very early this morning (between 6:30 and 7:00), my husband noticed she had her eye closed and it was running.  I ran and got a washcloth and proceeded to wipe her eye.  She opened it a little and I could see how cloudy her eye was.  It scared the bejesus out of me because I was afraid that shampoo had made her go blind.  That eye is usually part blue-part brown, but it looked all brown and not even the right color brown, as it had a cloudy look to it.  It really scared me.

I got in the shower immediately and got ready to take her to the vet.  They were not open yet or I would have skipped the shower, as I felt time was of the essence.  The doc was not yet there when I dropped her off.  I had to take my daughter for a dental appointment, so I told them just to have the doctor call me with her findings.

She did call and said that MJ had an ulcer on her eye and it could be from the shampoo or it could be from something she got into outside when we let her out this morning.  I personally favor the shampoo, as I have heard of many animals having allergic reactions to these certain over-the-counter products.  You would think as long as they have been in business, they would have all of these problems ironed out, but one of the techs at my vet's office told me that a large amount of animals have reactions to these OTC products.

I am printing this as a warning to any pet owners out there.  I strongly recommend you go with what your vet recommends for your pets and not this over-the-counter stuff.  This is a name I thought I could trust.  I call on them to be responsible and correct the problems with their products, as there is no doubt in my mind that the shampoo is what caused this reaction in my dog.  Had it made her go blind as I had feared, I would have held them accountable.

My vet told me I did the right thing by bringing MJ on in as it could have become very serious.  I am sooooooo glad I did, as she is my baby.  She takes every step I take and I cannot tell you how lonesome it has been around here today without her. It is like part of me is missing.

I have to take her back to the vet in a week and let her check Mary Jane's eye to make sure it has healed properly.  I just thank God her prognosis is good, I could not live with myself had I caused her to go blind by using a shampoo on her that was bad for her.

All four of my fur babies are like family to me.  I again thank God she should be okay.

Blessings!~

Susan

P.S.  I took the name of the company out of the entry because of possible legal litigation, but if you want to know email me and I will tell you.