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Tell Me I Made The Right Call At Evet


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Leo got hurt, no idea how, in the yard. It's a largely shallow, open wound on the shoulder, but it had a small pocket. The options were sedation and drain, or close it and antibiotics. They were busy and the vet seemed distracted and didn't want to talk to me about choice of sedatives. So we had it closed, and I'm going to have our vet recheck it. I'm also second guessing letting her give him Buprenex, I wasn't sure, DH thought it was okay. He seemed relaxed after the shot, but now he's panting and won't eat. But he freaks out over everything anyway and refuses to eat at the drop of a hat. So I don't know. Thoughts?

 

I had planned on having him rechecked on Thursday, assuming there's no sign of infection, but I'm wondering if I should him evaluated by my vet in the morning about putting in a drain. I'm fine with her sedating him, she's done it before and I know she'll take care of him.

Beth, Petey (8 September 2018- ), and Faith (22 March 2019). Godspeed Patrick (28 April 1999 - 5 August 2012), Murphy (23 June 2004 - 27 July 2013), Leo (1 May 2009 - 27 January 2020), and Henry (10 August 2010 - 7 August 2020), you were loved more than you can know.

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He'll probably be fine by morning but I spent a night that seemed to last two weeks when they gave Rex Morphine. He did the exact same thing pacing and panting until about 5 a.m. or so, then collapsed and slept. He was fine when he woke up. Opiates are such a crapshoot with greys. :grouphug Take an assessment in the morning. You might not have to run to your vet quite so quick.

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You may be in for a long night. Hope he can settle down eventually. I agree with Pam to evaluate him again in the morning. They usually give a antibiotic shot along with everything else, so that will last til morning anyway. If he won't eat by then, you can try peanut butter on a slice of bread to give him his pills. Even my picky girl couldn't resist that!

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My boys prefer pills hidden in yoghurt or liver sausage. I'm always careful with pockets and leave the wound open, clean it change dressings on a daily basis and have cold laser therapy 3 times a week. But I always had to deal with wound on moveable parts where stitches wouldn't work.

Sorry for butchering the english language. I try to keep the mistakes to a minimum.

 

Nadine with Paddy (Zippy Mullane), Saoirse (Lizzie Be Nice), Abu (Cillowen Abu) and bridge angels Colin (Dessies Hero) and Andy (Riot Officer).

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Buprenex is safe for ghs but, some will react in the manner you are describing. Typically lasts around 4-6 hours but, I've seen the side effects last a bit longer in ghs.

Regarding the drain-I would keep an eye on the wound checking for fluid buildup, heat, change in color. Hopefully, the antibiotics will do there job and prevent an abcess. I would hold off and have him checked on Thursday as scheduled.

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Last night wasn't great, but it wasn't nearly as bad as when Patrick had an opiate reaction, so I'm thinking it may have been just Leo's anxiety about the whole thing. So far so good with the wound, and he is on an antibiotic. The evet said recheck in 10-14 days to remove staples, but I'm thinking tomorrow just to be safe (assuming things are okay today) and then again later.

Beth, Petey (8 September 2018- ), and Faith (22 March 2019). Godspeed Patrick (28 April 1999 - 5 August 2012), Murphy (23 June 2004 - 27 July 2013), Leo (1 May 2009 - 27 January 2020), and Henry (10 August 2010 - 7 August 2020), you were loved more than you can know.

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Just my opinion, but I'm thinking you'll feel better yourself if you have your trusted vet check the wound.

If she tells you all is well, it will relieve your angst, and that in itself will probably do Leo's anxiety some good.

Blessed is the person who has earned the love of an old dog.

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I took him in this morning, our vet was not thrilled with the state of the repair. She said it would probably heal okay, or we could sedate him and use a local and redo it. Since one of the issues is there's hair in the wound, I went ahead and am having her redo it properly. They also dosed the opiate higher than necessary, since it turns out he's had it before at a lower dose without problems, I'm glad I didn't have them sedate him since they probably would have screwed that up as well.

 

I feel like crap though. I didn't realize our vet had instituted emergency on-call in the evenings. I'm not sure if they didn't tell me or if they told me and with all of my health problems last year I didn't remember, but we could have avoided all this since she was the one on-call at the practice last night. My poor baby.

Beth, Petey (8 September 2018- ), and Faith (22 March 2019). Godspeed Patrick (28 April 1999 - 5 August 2012), Murphy (23 June 2004 - 27 July 2013), Leo (1 May 2009 - 27 January 2020), and Henry (10 August 2010 - 7 August 2020), you were loved more than you can know.

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We all do the best we can and try to make the best choice at the time. Sometimes, it turns out not to be the right choice, but that doesn't mean we didn't do the best we could, so don't beat yourself up! I am glad your vet fixed things properly, you can be confident he will be ok now.

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I took him in this morning, our vet was not thrilled with the state of the repair. She said it would probably heal okay, or we could sedate him and use a local and redo it. Since one of the issues is there's hair in the wound, I went ahead and am having her redo it properly. They also dosed the opiate higher than necessary, since it turns out he's had it before at a lower dose without problems, I'm glad I didn't have them sedate him since they probably would have screwed that up as well.

 

I feel like crap though. I didn't realize our vet had instituted emergency on-call in the evenings. I'm not sure if they didn't tell me or if they told me and with all of my health problems last year I didn't remember, but we could have avoided all this since she was the one on-call at the practice last night. My poor baby.

These things happen and it was not your fault at all. You took great care of him with what resources you had available at the time. I know this is probably not even on your radar right now, but I would refuse the charges from the e-vet if they did such a poor job that you had to get it re-done! Honestly I would call the clinic today and explain the situation and then stop the check or CC charge ASAP if they don't work with you. They have to know that this isn't the right way to treat pets and customers and hitting them in the pocketbook is the best way to do that. It might give you something to do instead of worry :)

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Now I'm relieved and really mad. My vet just called, she got the wound all cleaned out with a drain in and sutured in two layers. But what I thought was a small scrape on his mouth, that the e-vet said she cleaned and looked at, turned out to be a puncture all the way through the lip that needed a suture on the interior and exterior. It should heal just fine now, but seriously. At least there's another e-vet basically the same distance away for 3 am emergencies if we need it.

Beth, Petey (8 September 2018- ), and Faith (22 March 2019). Godspeed Patrick (28 April 1999 - 5 August 2012), Murphy (23 June 2004 - 27 July 2013), Leo (1 May 2009 - 27 January 2020), and Henry (10 August 2010 - 7 August 2020), you were loved more than you can know.

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oh my! what an ordeal for you....so glad you got him to your vet to have Leo rechecked. That's very disconcerting about the care the e-vet gave him but how were you to know they would mess up so much. :grouphug

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Jeepers, all that, and without a clue about how he did it. Greyhounds are the quirkiest! Hope your good boy is doing better. FWIW, Paddy had a negative reaction with Buprenex, we will not administer that again. Good healing thoughts for Leo! :grouphug

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I didn't realize our vet had instituted emergency on-call in the evenings. I'm not sure if they didn't tell me or if they told me and with all of my health problems last year I didn't remember, but we could have avoided all this since she was the one on-call at the practice last night. My poor baby.

More and more vets are doing this as well as extended hours. Hillside on Mockingbird here is 24/7 for an ordinary office call charge and East Lake right by me has all day Saturday and Sunday hours which helps a lot too...things always seem to happen on Sundays.

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Jeepers, all that, and without a clue about how he did it. Greyhounds are the quirkiest! Hope your good boy is doing better. FWIW, Paddy had a negative reaction with Buprenex, we will not administer that again. Good healing thoughts for Leo! :grouphug

I know and not a peep out of him till we got to the evet. When I quicked him once, I think everyone in a 30 mile radius heard him screaming.

Beth, Petey (8 September 2018- ), and Faith (22 March 2019). Godspeed Patrick (28 April 1999 - 5 August 2012), Murphy (23 June 2004 - 27 July 2013), Leo (1 May 2009 - 27 January 2020), and Henry (10 August 2010 - 7 August 2020), you were loved more than you can know.

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Guest GoingGrey

Dang. Poor Leo. But poor YOU.

 

These decisions are difficult, especially so when made in emergency situations. You know you can't blame yourself. And as someone who recently had to make them while also witnessing the horror that is a greyhound reacting badly to an opiate, I feel for you, and send a warm, empathetic virtual hug your way!

 

Sunday was the first night I'd had a full night's sleep in a week, and with a good rest the human brain is better equipped to see the glass half-full rather than half-empty (It's also more resistant to full-blown sobbing fits at sappy commercials, but I digress...), so I wish you all the zzzz's you can get.

 

Elvis has to take a (literal) fistful of pills twice daily. He acts like I've insulted his intelligence when I try camouflaging them in balls of American cheese. What works right now is putting them in a little ball of IAMS canned lamb & rice, then wrapping that up in thinly sliced deli turkey.

 

Thinking of you guys, and seconding that angry emotion toward inept E-vets!

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Leo's home. He looks awful, but that's because everything is shaved and stitched properly and his wound is draining. He ate the half dinner the vet said he could have and seems fine and relaxed. Definitely a lesson in go with your gut, I'm glad I didn't let the evet sedate him and I'm glad I had our vet redo the procedure, I think this would have been bad if we'd left it the way it was. Thank you all for your support, as always.

Beth, Petey (8 September 2018- ), and Faith (22 March 2019). Godspeed Patrick (28 April 1999 - 5 August 2012), Murphy (23 June 2004 - 27 July 2013), Leo (1 May 2009 - 27 January 2020), and Henry (10 August 2010 - 7 August 2020), you were loved more than you can know.

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Boo that the evet didn't do a better job. Sounds like he should be on the road to healing now tho. Hugs.

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We miss Reko Batman (Trouper Zeke x Marque Louisiana), 11/15/95-6/29/06, Rocco the thistledown whippet, 04/29/93-10/14/08, Reko Zema (Mo Kick x Reko Princess), 8/16/98-4/18/10, the most beautiful girl in the whole USA, my good egg Joseph aka Won by a Nose (Oneco Cufflink x Buy Back), 09/22/2003-03/01/2013, and our gentle sweet Gidget (Digitizer, Dodgem by Design x Sobe Mulberry), 1/29/2006-11/22/2014, gone much too soon. Never forgetting CJC's Buckshot, 1/2/07-10/25/10.

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Don't beat yourself up. You did the best you could with the information you had to work with. The important thing is that he's all fixed now, and that you did your best to make sure he received the best care possible.

 

Glad he's home.

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Thanks for asking. He's been good, other than not remembering not to lie on his hurt side and being very upset he couldn't go after a squirrel this morning (we're on leash for potty breaks). We go back to the vet's tomorrow morning to have the drain removed / wound checked, but everything seems to be healing up fine.

Beth, Petey (8 September 2018- ), and Faith (22 March 2019). Godspeed Patrick (28 April 1999 - 5 August 2012), Murphy (23 June 2004 - 27 July 2013), Leo (1 May 2009 - 27 January 2020), and Henry (10 August 2010 - 7 August 2020), you were loved more than you can know.

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