My Poor Baby.... Hopefully Final Update

[Donna K & Quincy]

Two weeks ago I had to take Quincy to the vet because his left eyelid was really swollen, three shots later, an antibiotic, an antihistamine and prednisone and in 24hrs the eye was totally better.  We thought at that time that he may have gotten stung by something and it was just a localized allergic reaction. Fast forward to yesterday and I noticed his eye was really swollen again and after a little poking and prodding around I noticed that he had a lump well above his left eye and the whole side of his head in the temple area was swollen. I was going to wait until Mon to take him to the vet but this morning when he got up it was even more swollen and was obviously bothering him so we took him to the emergency vet. They checked his temp and it was 40.5C which is almost 105F, I had no clue he had a fever and I'm feeling like a bit of an idiot. They shaved the side of his head and there was a large abscess. They made two small incisions and drained a lot of purulent drainage, the vet said it was almost unbelivable how much gunk came out of it. He is now on antibiotics for three weeks and he has pain pills for the next four days and of course the dreaded cone. I almost died when they brought him back to me, he looked like he had been slaughtered, there was blood everywhere. It is amazing how fast this seemed to happen although in hindsight I think there was something going on even before the last vet visit, he would kind of squint and flinch up his face on that side at times. I did feel all around the area at the time but didn't feel anything there. The vet checked his ears and teeth but could find nothing wrong there so we don't really know what is causing it. We have to go back on Friday and if it isn't better or is getting worse they are going to put in a drain and leave it in. I am really praying that it gets better and we don't have to go down that road. I'm glad that we didn't wait till tomorrow as that gets us one day ahead in the treatment. I've given him his pain meds and he is now resting without the cone and he won't be left alone with it off.

When I first took the cone off to try and clean him up he was really agitated and trying to paw his eye but the pain meds are working now and he is being such a good boy. He was really good for the vet and they only used a local anaesthetic instead of really sedating him. It just breaks my heart to look at him and know that he is hurting. I am going to think positive that the antibiotics will work and this will be the end of it. This is a picture taken on Friday and the attachment is a photo taken today that you look if you want. I'd already cleaned him up when it was taken so it's not as bad as it could have been.

 

054.JPG

UPDATE WED

I'm happy to report that Quincy is feeling much better today and actually was up to going for a short walk for the first time since Saturday. He was reluctant to move and I could barely get him out side to go potty. He just had a bath and his looking and smelling much better because on Sunday he was quite a mess after they drained the abscess. I've attached a pic so you can see the improvement and maybe see why I was a bit freaked out on Sunday. Thank you all for those positive vibes, they are working and of course I think the antibiotics are helping too. :>)

2012-09-19.jpg

UPDATE SAT

 Quincy saw the vet on Friday and there was still an abscess there so he had it drained again. This time the vet made a sl larger incision hoping that it will stay open a little longer and to let anything else that is in there drain. I think he has gotten more relief this time around as I am now able to clean it without him flinching away from me. He is eating and drinking normally and he no longer has a fever so I think he is feeling much better. We have two more weeks of antibiotics and I am really hoping the abscess doesn't fill up again because if it does they may have to do surgery and really open it up to look for a foreign body. He is still wearing his cone at night and is getting so used to it that he now waits for me to put it on before he goes to bed. He is looking much better and you can hardly notice the he is all shaved on the side of his head unless you are really close. Here is a pic of us returning from the vet on Fri. He is a really good boy and still doesn't mind going to the vet.

Hopefully Final Update: I am happy to report that Quincy is totally back to his old self, eating, drinking and playing normally. His eye and face are completely back to normal. He still has another 10 days of antibiotics to go and hopefully then we'll be done with this chapter. Quincy and I would like to say thank you for all the hugs and positive healing thoughts, it is so great to have a place to go for support and sympathy. Thank you all for caring about us. Hugs

[Deanna & Desi & Cori]

Wow, that's a gnarly-looking wound!  Poor baby!!  I'm so glad to see that he's doing a bit better today.  I'm not surprised that it temporarily got worse after the procedure.  Right after my reconstruction following my melanoma surgery, the wound looked surprisingly good, but by the next day, the swelling and bruising had really kicked in.

Sending positive thoughts Quincy's way!!!   

[Candice & Bailey]

Glad to hear that Quincy peed this morning. Start healing up fast big guy! (((gentle pats)))

[Linda, Webber and Seda]

Oh my goodness.  I just signed in after a couple of days and read all the posts about Quincy's abcess.  I am so sorry for you both.  Hope he is feeling better soon and that you can avoid the drain.  I had a cat with an abcess like that and they gave me Kenalog in a tube with an applicator on the end to stick into the hole where they lanced it.  That way I could keep the medication in the wound and keep it open until the infection drained.  I remember it as a messy affair.  So glad you took him in when you did.

[Pam & Trixie]

Poor Quincy.   I hope he continues to feel better & heal quickly

[Rose]

I'm so sorry to hear this. Get well soon, Quincy!  Hugs.

[Lorraine Bromley]

He looks like he lost in a bar fight!!

[Sharon & Monty]

Poor Quincy.  I'm so glad he is feeling better today.  What an odd thing to happen, paws crossed that the worst is over.  

[Colleen, Jake & Baxter]

I'm just seeing this for the first time too.  I am glad Quincy is feeling better.  I know when they are better so are we.  Sending prayers for a speedy recovery and that there is no underlying condition that caused this!  You are such a sweet, sweet beautiful doodle Quincy.  Take care of your "Mom" and heal quickly. 

[Donna K & Quincy]

Quincy is looking and feeling a little better, you can actually see a little bit of his eye again. I think he was having trouble adjusting to seeing out of only one eye. He is eating and drinking some so that's one less thing to worry about. He takes his meds well with peanut butter but spit them across the floor when I tried hiding them in a piece of hot dog. It's a good thing we have a large jar of pb because he has three weeks of pills three times a day. The abcess is still draining some and he has been really good about leaving it alone most of the time but every now and then he tries to scratch it so I haven't let him out of my sight all day. Here's hoping it looks even better tomorrow. Thanks to all of you for your concern and well wishes, we appreciate them.

[F, Calla & Luca]

Great! I do think tomorrow will be much better.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

I'm so glad to hear this!

[BG and Gavin]

Q is on the right track now!  Gav had to take pills for five weeks and he got so that every time I took out the peanut butter jar he hid lol.  I had to switch to cheese whiz part way through.  He still knew I was hiding a pill I think, but he just could not help himself because it was CHEESE!