Emergency!

[baileysworkworld]

Just wrote a massive huge post then deleted it!!!


I was out walking on Wednesday when one of my dogs got a splinter in her eye.

As in - In HER EYEBALL! 

First thought was Shit!!!!!!

Second thought was, right, got to get this sorted!

I put a lead on her and got her moving straight away, I turned round and walked her back towards the van. I called the other 5 dogs and phoned the owner, told her that she needed the vet now and I was on my way and would meet her there. I then phoned her vet and told them I was bringing her in.

I then realised that as soon as I put her in the van, I would have to let go of her and she would be pawing at her eye. That would possibly cause a lot more damage and I couldn't let her do that.

I then phoned my cleaner (bless her) who drove round to my house, picked up my buster (cone) collars and drove to meet me at the park. I had got back to the van, put the other 5 dogs in and sat and kept her calm while I waited for the collars. I then got one on her so I could travel her safely.

Once I got her to the vet there were 3 possibilities of what could happen next. Either the splinter would come out cleanly, they stitch the eye and all fairly straight forward. OR they take it out, the eye collapses and needs very specialist care for quiet a while. The third option, if the eye collapses, is to just remove it as will be less costly and less long term trauma to the dog.

The owner arrived about 5 mins after I got her there and told the vets to do what ever was needed.

Guess what, they managed to save her eye !!!!!!!

The owner phoned me that evening to say they had removed it and (the vet actually said due to my quick action and thinking) it came out cleanly, they were able to stitch the eyeball and touch wood, eye drops for weeks, regular check ups and hopefully, all will be good!!!




For future references to all - if you have anything stuck in an eye ball - human or dog, prevent further damage is the most important thing and get medical help asap!!!!!!

[Kimmikins]

Wow, congratulations on your quick thinking! Especially with all the other dogs to look after, too.

Fantastic news that they managed to save her eye, the owner must be so grateful for how you handled the situation. How did she manage to get a splinter in there in the first place? Dogs are incredible at getting things where you really don't want them to be!

[baileysworkworld]

Just by having a general play and run around with the others in the bushes and stuff. It was a black thorn, about half an inch long. I saw it after it came out and it was quiet thin, luckily!!

[Kimmikins]

Ouch! That sounds like the kind of thing that punctured Sara's paw. Although it wasn't half an inch long!

[kimthecat]

 Well done for keeping calm! Its a nightmare when something like that happens.

 Libby chi last summer, she picked up part of a stick that she;d found and before I could take it from her , it became wedged in her mouth at the back . She couldnt close her mouth and kept pawing at it .  We were at the vets within 20 mins and they saw us straight away . The vet was very good and she managed to remove the stick without having to knock her out and no damage done thank goodness.

[Kimmikins]

Crikey, you always worry about sticks getting stuck and doing damage, thank god it was just wedged and came out nicely!

[Adrianne]

well done, I carry a doggy first aid kit on our pack walks but there should be an inflatable/ makeshift Elizabethan collar included inside them.. theres not much in there that would have helped in that situation ...very lucky to have saved her sight, well done

[crinklecats]

You sound as though you were very calm and able to think clearly and did all the right things and thank goodness the Vet's were able to save the eye. It's amazing how dangerous nature can be. I mentioned in another post how Leroy my Bengal cat got a blade of grass stuck in his soft palate and needed to be operated on to remove it. I got to keep it as a very expensive souvenir.

[kristina]

Scary stuff well done you for such fast action,Xena has had a couple of thorns in her paws and a lot of hedges here are Black Thorn will much more aware now of them.Kristina

[baileysworkworld]

Bailey gets bramble thorns in his coat every day, we sit on the sofa at night and I pick them all out. It was just really, really unlucky that it went in her eye.

I was fine until I left the vets, then it hit me of the seriousness of what had happened. I then had to take out another group of 5 dogs, by that time it was dark, nothing new there, my last walk is usually in the dark all winter.

But I felt sick, I was sure every dog was going to gouge their eyes out in the dark. Stupid, as each dog I've walked in the dark hundreds of times. That was the worst part, taking them put again.

Needless to say, I kept that walk very short and I walked around the edge of a playing field, and I kept calling the dogs back every time they went near a bush or hedge!

They all thought I'd gone mad!!!

[Kimmikins]

Aww, I can imagine how that must have hit you once it was all over and the adrenaline had subsided!

[Dani]

Gosh a massive   !!! I would ve panicked . . . . real bad ! Must be even worse when it is not your own dog,her owners are very lucky that you are so knowledgeable and quick thinking    well done you !!! 

[baileysworkworld]

Just a quick update, This girly is doing really well. I usually walk her on Wednesdays and Fridays.

This incident happened last Wednesday (22nd Jan), she is on lead walks at the mo. I saw her for the first time yesterday and took her on a lead walk with Bailey, around the roads, but she had a check up the day before and all is really good.

The vets are fairly sure that her eye sight will be as good as new in a week or 2, they think at the moment she has slightly cloudy vision in that eye.

If nothing changes she'll be coming out on off lead walks again as of next Wednesday! 2 weeks after this happened!!!

[Kimmikins]

That's fantastic news, the owners must be incredibly thrilled and grateful for your swift actions. Eyes are incredible things, and can heal very quickly...or very slowly if things go wrong!
Lucky girly