Gracie Doodle Goes BACK For More Surgery!!

[Nancie & Gracie Doodle]

Well, Gracie Doodle went back for more surgery today. The first surgery was on Wednesday and here it is Friday and she had to go back. Her paw continued to look really bad and the swelling wasn't going down. I took her in and they said they would have to put her out and do more surgery. My poor baby!!! This time it was "our" vet who performed the surgery. We had a different one from the group on Wednesday. I'm sure they are all the same but this one knows us personally and I some how feel l he would go that extra mile for us. He found another fox tail and when I went to pick her up it was taped to my bill...funny...NOT! I don't even want to tell you how much this is turning out to be. It was interesting to hear how the fox tails work. They can travel through the paw to the leg and then up to other parts of the body if not taken care of. Of course people had to tell me the horror stories about fox tails going to the brain or heart and killing the dog. Just what I don't want to hear. It turns out that the fox tails sort of leave an opening or tunnel as they go. The surgery involves using tiny forceps that they insert into the entry hole and they start tracking up using a clamp and pull method. They hope to clamp on to something, feel resistance and then pull...hopefully finding a fox tail. If not then they continue to advance upward further into the paw. Sounds disgusting doesn't it? Well, he is concerned about one huge hole that she has. He is afraid there might be one more of those suckers! He has probed and probed and not found anything. He said that he went up 2 inches...Yipes! He said that the tunnel took a turn and started heading down to the foot pad. If there is a fox tail it will possibly work its way out to the soft furry area right behind the main pad and the heel pad. It will present itself as a boil, sore, puffy lump or some sort of abnormal looking lump. Gracie will probably start limping and licking which will indicate it's presence. The best thing that could happen is for it to poke through and then we could use tweezers to remove it. Cheapest too!! If not, then back into the vet for more surgery. Or, it could decide to turn around and go back up the way it went in. The one today had turned around and was on the way out. Strange things these Fox Tails. They almost sound like they are alive...but they are NOT! I never would have dreamed that this could become such a problem. Poor Gracie came home with an even bigger cone around her head. She managed to do a "play bow" and lick her foot with the one she had before. I think my Gracie Doodle is going to become a "cement" city dog!!! Or she wears her boots when she goes of roading!!! Keep your fingers crossed that there is NOT another fox tail. Check out the size of this new "cone of shame"!! I took this right after she got out of the car when I brought her home! She looks pretty groggy!

[Deirdre]

Nancie I'm so sorry for what your family and Gracie are going through, they are nasty weeds! Nancy that's a perfect picture of what foxtails are. Born and raised in Ca. dogs all my life I've experienced it ALL with foxtails and it's ugly. What's awful is when they turn brown they fly through the air and where they land they grow. I can spot a green foxtail plant a mile away! When I spot one in my yard I cut the part of the plant off that contains the foxtail. You all on the East Coast just have to carry a bag around for poop patrol, I also carry one for foxtail patrol! I will not mow my grass without checking for the foxtail plant even though it's green when you mow the mower can spit out some of the tough part of the plant and when the green tough part lands on the lawn the seeds dry and you've got foxtails. It's a lot of work but my house is surrouded by 3 vacant lots and when weed abatement happens the foxtails fly right in. Hey even trade, the climates good here

[F, Calla & Luca]

I am so sorry to hear about all this trouble. Poor Gracie, I hope she's soon bcak to herself.

[Nancie & Gracie Doodle]

Just imagine all those @#%*@#% fox tails stuck to your Doodle's paws, ears, snout and body!!! Nancy did not plant those on the shoes for show. That is the real thing after walking through a field of fox tails! East Coast has ticks and the West Coast has fox tails. Not sure what is in the middle??? ha ha These are nasty, nasty weeds to get into. Just ask Gracie...she is not a happy camper right now!!!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Laurie, I'm pretty sure they aren't in your area. I believe they only grow west of the Mississippi.

[Adina P]

Ugh...so sorry sweet Gracie. Foxtails are so awful. Cass once had to be put under to pull one out of her ear. And strangely Rosco once had a decomposed one in his ear that was found when the vet was looking in after ear infection treatment. But yeah...they can be so much worse...HATE those darn things!

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

For those of you who don't know this is a picture of our California foxtails:

These are really nasty suckers. In the spring they are green and don't burrow into you, but in the summer, they dry out and there you go......

[Nancy, Ned, Clancy, and Charlie]

Poor poor Gracie! Fox tails are just the worst. Ned knows exactly how she feels. He came with foxtails (yes plural) in both ears and in his throat. He was one infected and smelly boy who required exploratory surgery to get them out. I worried that his hearing might be affected, but unless you count selective hearing, it wasn't. I am hoping Gracie has a speedy recovery from this second surgery.

[Laurie, Fudge, and Vern]

Oh, I feel so sorry for all of you! I am going to google Fox Tails right now and see where they are in our area. Thank you for this information. Hope Gracie is on the mend soon and no more fox tails.

[Carol and Banjo]

Ohhhhh....so sorry to hear this news! Poor Gracie....poor Mommy!!!! Hugs to you both!

[cheryl & oliver]

oops forgot that is the same size cone we have here too. And can u believe that Oliver figured out how to get at his paw with that monstrosity on his head!!!!...I used a sock and a velcro wrist band and an ace bandage after each time I had to clean and dress his wound, and still had to watch him like a hawk...It was so sad, I would say ok Oliver time for Mommy to fix your boo boo, he would run jump on the spare bedroom bed and lie down and wait for me to do my thing. To this day, if I have to put meds on him, he goes right to the bed, sad isn't it?...