Captain needs some DK love!

Captain needs all the prayers & happy thoughts he can get right now!

Late last week, we noticed that his top paw pad on his front left leg was very swollen. We took him into the vet, and she put him on antibiotics and an ant inflammatory with the hopes that it was some kind of infection. However, the paw pad didn't seem to be hurting him at all (she said he was very stoic during the exam), which made her think it could possibly be a tumor. She said that if the swelling didn't go down after the round of antibiotics, they may need to do a biopsy.

Well, the swelling seemed to go down and a sore that was on that paw pad started oozing, which was a good sign that perhaps it was an infection and not a tumor. However, today when I got home for lunch, I noticed that his whole foot was swollen and irritated looking. It still wasn't hurting him, but obviously something is wrong. I ended up bringing him back to the vet's office, and they kept him to do an examination and x-ray.

When I heard back from the vet this afternoon, she said that the x-ray didn’t show any change in his bones except for possibly a "very slight change" by the first paw pad that was swollen – nothing of note really. She shaved his leg, and it is very swollen, purple, oozing, and painful looking, but amazingly, he still doesn’t act like he is in any pain.

They are keeping him overnight. She put a wrap on his leg which will hopefully help bring down the swelling tonight, but if the swelling isn’t down significantly in the morning, they will have to do a biopsy.

She is hoping for the best, but she wants us to be prepared for the worst.

The best thing would be for the swelling to go down significantly tonight – so that's my main prayer right now. If it doesn't and they need to do the biopsy, the hope would be it is something like cellulitis rather than cancer (worst case).

Anyway, poor Captain is stuck at the vet tonight – which probably stinks more for his momma than for him – so prayers and happy thoughts would be greatly appreciated.

Update – Thursday morning

All the wonderful thoughts & prayers worked! When the vet checked his leg this morning, the swelling had gone down a lot! There is still a little blood & fluid coming out of the wound on the paw pad, but overall, she is really pleased with how it is looking. His temperature even went down a little.

She said we could do a biopsy if we wanted, or we could wait and see how it progresses over the weekend. I chose to wait and see. Hopefully, with this new antibiotic and the wrap that she uses, it will keep getting better and better.

Thank you so much for all the DK love! You guys rock!

I'll keep you updated, and I'll be sure to take a picture of him with his leg all wrapped up.

Update - Saturday

We're pretty sure that it was a snake bite that started this whole mess, but I think we're past the roughest part now. Captain is doing really well!

The swelling keeps going down more & more each day. It almost looks like it is back to normal now, although the top paw pad is still a little swollen and he still has a sore on it. We'll keep watching it to make sure it doesn't start swelling again or doesn't start hurting him.

He's been pouting because we won't let him outside to do much more than go potty. He's such an outdoor boy normally -- but we've got to wait until the sore heals a little more before he can go back to his usual romping. Hopefully, that won't be too much longer though!

Thanks again for all your thoughts & prayers!

Captain & his bunny

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Permalink Reply by Regina and Hurley on April 18, 2012 at 6:56pm

I am so sorry to hear that Captain is staying at the vet tonight. I will pray for him that he is ok and pray for you too. It's hard when there is something going on with your dog. I pray that you have some rest tonight and be ready for tomorrow. Hang in there. When I was going through this a couple of weeks ago with Hurley I was so upset. DK got me through it and is still getting me through this. Now, it's my turn to let you know and Captain that you are being thought of and well wishes coming your way. The bond you share with your dog can not be described..you have a lot of people praying for you, Captain and your family...

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Permalink Reply by Leigh & Allie on April 18, 2012 at 7:32pm

Allie would give Captain a big high five once you get the positive news you will hear tomorrow.

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Permalink Reply by Bonnie and Kona on April 18, 2012 at 8:05pm

Praying Captian's paw heals quickly with no serious diagnosis! Praying for your peace as you wait to hear. I'm so sorry you are both going through this.

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Permalink Reply by Libby D. on April 18, 2012 at 8:14pm

Thank you, thank you, thank you, DKers -- a million times over. It's funny how much a few (actually a lot) of kind words can mean when you've hit a little bump in the road. We should hear from the vet tomorrow morning, and I will definitely keep y'all updated on how Captain is doing.