Tuesday, October 21, 2008

Lola's Brush With Death!!!

As you may or may not know, I'm an animal lover. Always have been , always will be....which is probably why I have convinced my family we need 5-dogs, 2-cats, 1-horse and a hamster. With this many animals comes challenges: the constant cleaning, the vet visits, the hole filling, the pooper- scooping, the snuggle time etc. But our little pug, Lola Frank, threw us a curve the other night. She came in the house from playing and fell on the floor, not moving! I freaked, the kids were hysterical and the other dogs were confused. Poor Lola Frank's head was twice its size, she was listless and having trouble breathing. (see the above pictures) I immediately knew she had been bitten by something, but what was the dilemma. We rushed her to the vet, (of course it's 9 at night and those emergency fees starting racking up before I even arrived at Dr Weigand's office). He took one look at Lola Frank and knew she was going into anaphylactic shock!..... (Anaphylactic shock, the most severe type of anaphylaxis, occurs when an allergic response triggers a quick release from mast cells of large quantities of immunological mediators histamines, prostaglandins, leukotrienes leading to systemic vasodilation, associated with a sudden drop in blood pressure and edema of bronchial mucosa, resulting in bronchoconstriction and difficulty breathing. Anaphylactic shock can lead to death in a matter of minutes if left untreated.)....I feared we would lose our little girl....she spent 3-nights in intensive care, her systems was flushed 4-times and still no great improvement. We were still baffled as to what bit her....Dr Weigand has narrowed it to a poisonous snake, but what kind? As luck would have it, a few days later I stumbled upon a baby rattle snake near the pool!! I had found the culprit.





Yes, rattle snakes are quite prevalent in South Florida and snake bites occur most often in October than any other month of the year...at least that's what the experts told me! I called the vet and he decided if Lola wasn't better by the following morning, she would receive a blood transfusion, followed by at least 4-5 vials of anti-venom...Ka-Ching!!! The anti-venom costs $350 a vial!! ...I prayed for a miracle. The following morning, the vet's staff was getting Lola prepared for her transfusion. They flushed out her system and waited until 9am to make a decision. At 8:45am I received a call at the radio station....it was Dr Weigand's office....with an update on Lola. ..The words are as clear today as they were 4-days ago....Lola has made a miraculous recovery! She's up, running around, happy and a lot healthier! No transfusion, no anti-venom....She's was going to be fine!!! Lola came home 2-days later and has been to the vet for a check-up everyday since. Each day she gets better and better and maybe by next week her blood levels will return to normal. The point of the blog is a warning to anyone who has a pet. Snakes are every where and your dog or cat's curiosity will get the best of him. Watch our for these slithery little demons....they can cost you your sanity and your wallet!!







Our litte Lola Frank is almost back to normal!























2 comments:

Terry said...

Boy I can relate... After moving to the country we decided or should I say, I convinced my husband that we needed a goat. Okay you probably wonder why a goat, I thought they were adorable. Well time has gone by and now there is 3 goats, 3 dogs that belong to me 2 dogs that belong to my daughter who is staying home with me while my husbands remodels her new place. 5 cats, which I rescued, 5 kittens I recently rescued and looking for a good home. 1 bird that belongs to my mother in law who lives in our in law quarter and I take care off.
I should not leave out that we have a combo of 5 kids between the both of us. Two in college and three that are still at home.

So I do not tell my husband how much we do pay in Vet bills, because he would probably have a heart attack.

But there is a special place in my heart that feels for animals, so you are not alone.

Terry

Sheila said...

Jennifer, so glad to hear your story has such a happy ending. I knew Deena had a pug and that you had lots of animals but did not know you had such a gorgeous pug (girl of boy, confused with the Lola Frank name?). We have 2 pugs, Murphy & Lola and are just huge pug fans. I'm so glad that everything worked out for you and Lola Frank.