Spider Bites

This is our sweet Harley.



That's his good side. Harley had a horrid experience this week. Over the weekend while our tiny grandson Mark was visiting for the first time, the dogs, inexperienced with small children, were separated into different yards for his protection. Sunday afternoon Harley began to show some bleeding and drainage from a small abscess on his right cheek. Jack recalled a recent incident when Leana reached out from the coffee table and hooked him good with her claw - dastardly cat! We were not terribly concerned.

On Monday the cheek was more swollen, with a wide open sore, and his sweet face and front legs were soaked with drainage. He was feverish, lying directly in the cool AC for a few minutes, then searching for a warm spot away from it, and drinking gallons of water. He paced fitfully at night as well, and I was up letting him out and in more than half a dozen times. When he sat, he franticly licked his right leg. He sat pushing against me at 4:00 am. Instead of getting up to let him out again, I began rubbing his rump and talking softly to him. He relaxed a bit, and I was able to reach halfway up his back with my other hand, petting and talking. He lay down with his full length pressed against my full length, and in a few minutes I heard snores. Finally, he got two hours of good, restful sleep.

Tuesday morning, although Harley seemed to feel a bit better after his good rest, the swelling and drainage were even worse. We began to suspect a spider bite - he could have been bitten by a brown recluse under the old mobile home while seeking cool shade. We called Dr. Penny, and she said, yep, that's what it sounds like.

Dr. Penny came in her mobile veterinarian van a little after noon, and she and Jack worked on Harley in the shade on the front porch. As much as he liked the nice lady, she had to sedate him in order to shave the affect parts and examine him. Sure enough, he had multiple spider bites on his cheek and leg. He must have laid down in a nest of 'em! But dogs have much stronger immune systems than humans, and they heal quicker. She shot him full of pain killer that she said would linger on in his system for as long as a month, and a mega-dose of a penicillin type antibiotic. Also vitamin B-12 and vitamin K. And gave him a little bag of pills to take over the next two weeks. She also recommended we get a large tube of Preparation H, which would help with the swelling and also help to draw the poison out.

She recommended that "nurse" Chelsea, our smaller white and black dog, who wants to lick and clean anyone who is wounded, be kept away from him, as the drainage from these wounds was very poisonous. She would have to concentrate her loving efforts on the ears and eyes of Frankie, the large pitbull mix who sleeps with Jack in the other room.

Each day Harley has looked better. And today, Friday, I'm letting everyone know that he is AMAZINGLY better. Yesterday I still had to coax him to eat, but today he ate his usual amount easily, although he does enjoy being coaxed. Who doesn't like a little extra attention, lol? The cheek is a bit crusty, but no oozing, and the leg bites never festered, so Chelsea can sleep with us again.

I've been wondering what Harley might weigh, as he hasn't been in to the vet's office in over a year, and an adult St. Bernard has a weight range of 130-200+ lbs. Dr. Penny isn't able to weigh such a big animal in her mobile office, but she estimates him to be in the 200+ area. She wrote "205" on his paperwork. Later that evening, she called to give us the results of his bloodwork - everything looked good, including his liver, kidneys and pancreas, which she said can be greatly affected by venom, as those organs filter out poisons from the body. I wonder if he fared so well partly because he is so huge.

Good lord! I just realized I have nearly 400 lbs of dogs! Harley at 205, and Frankie at 95... I wonder how much Chelsea weighs. I've been imagining about 70.