Perhaps it was the heat, but in July 2009 we made frequent visits to the vets.
Fight(s) #1
- Nutok vs. Monkey: Nutok attacked Monkey while Monkey was still on her chain. Nutok lost. The attack most likely occurred as a mini fight in the middle of the night while Duke was getting beat up by his brothers and sisters. Nutok ended up getting a bunch of stitches all over her body.
- Chevy (?) and/or Ahab (?) vs. Duke: Duke lost; He got stitches in his eye, on one of his paws and inner thigh.
Fight(s) #2
- Everyone vs. Duke: Several days after Duke was feeling better, he was jumped by at least eight dogs.
- Nikki vs. Monkey: While Duke was getting beat up by everyone, Nicky decided it was time to kick Monkey’s ass. Monkey ended up with a puncture wound in her armpit.
Do-It-Yourself Vet Care
We try to do a lot of vet care ourselves. We’ve learned a lot over the years, but sometimes make poor decisions. We treated Monkey’s puncture wound as if it were a puncture wound on another part of the body (i.e., head, thigh, forearm). The usual treatment is antibiotics and flushing the wound 1-2X a day with a water-betadine mix).
After several days, it was clear Monkey wasn’t getting better. She was getting worse! I took her to the vet and she was diagnosed with subcutaneous emphysema (aka subcutaneous crepitus). Since the placement of the wound was under the armpit, there was no muscle or fat to block the air from coming in. Monkey was filling up with air!!! When you pet her, she felt like bubble wrap.
Treatment for this was easy. The wound was sutured and she continued on her dose of antibiotics. She healed we’ll and no longer feels like bubble wrap or looks like a balloon.