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Saga of a woman old enough to know better who lets her life be governed by the ridiculous hobby of breeding and showing dogs, musing on life, the twenty first century, Cameron and his mini-me, and the occasional sheep.
"IN DOG YEARS, I`M DEAD"

Thursday, April 07, 2011

ELLA THE INVALID 

The last few weeks have been a struggle.   Ella has been quite ill, with a mysterious infection in her nose which spread to her tear ducts, made her whole face swell up,  and brought her very low. 

There were many visits to the vet, and many antibiotics were tried.  Poor Ella, oozing unmentionable stuff from eyes and nose, was poked and prodded, had the unmentionable thermometer inserted (at which her eyes bug out), and when she tried her best growl (described once as the sound of a very wet angry wasp) she blew bubbles instead.  

Her appetite went.   I kept her going on Complan, administered  by syringe - an unspeakably messy process.  As the vet commented, "Complan + saliva = instant glue. "   At least they now make it in chicken flavour....I just remembered the one original flavour, Yuck.

I tried her on everything.   I invited Shelby to show her how tasty these offerings were, and he responded nobly to the task.  I think he may look back on these weeks as some of the best in his life.

I had some success with ice cream.   As I brought in the carton, every bitch who has ever had a litter converged on it quickly.   I always give ice cream during a whelping, reckoning that something cool and delicious involving liquid, calcium and a whopping big sugar rush is no bad thing when you are working hard to push out puppies.   They had never forgotten.

I gave some to Allegra, who looked very thoughtful and could imagine her thinking;  "Wait a minute!  Ice cream and I`m not having contractions!  I don`t even remember getting pregnant!  Has my short term memory gone?"

At last the vet tried a new antibiotic, and it did the trick.   She had the injection on Monday, and the improvement since has been remarkable.  She is still not eating much, but is back to her old cheerful self, and her nose and eyes are clear..

I hope the worst is over.
Comments:
Glad Ella is feeling better and your vet found a medicine that worked. Drawn out illnesses with no end in sight are enough to drive one to medicinal brandy!
 
I really thought we would never get to the end of this one. We had tried everything with very little result and she just seemed to be fading. I just hope this clears it up for good.
Oh, and I have found a cheap vet! At last!
 
Happy to hear the adorable Ella is on the mend at last.Bet Shelby is horribly disappointed!Lynda
 
My fingers are crossed that the recovery is complete and that the problem doesn't return after the anti-b's are finished. Poor wee lass, I really feel for her in her troubles.
 
I certainly hope it is over. It has lasted a long time, and has really pulled her health down. I have never come across this problem before, and was at a bit of a loss as to what to do next.

But so far, she really does seem to be n the mend.
 
I hope Ella is still feeling better. I am not sure what Complan is, but when my dogs don't feel well I find jarred Baby Food (no onions, rice, cornstarch for my allergic dog) goes down in a flash. I sometimes mix in Baby Oatmeal. Baby sweet potatoes and applesauce are also quite popular. I should probably add some other ingredients if I need to use this diet for a long time, but I have never needed to feed this for more than two or three days. Janet
 
Complan is an old product, old enough that I remember having it as a child when I was ill. It is a complete invalid diet, as a powder made up with water. Not too attractive, and any of it that splashed on Ella set like glue - I am still picking bits off her.

Jarred baby food does sound a better alternative - cleaner too!

Ella seems much better now, but I am still trying to improve her appetite.
 
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