Foxtail Fiasco

Yesterday started out like any other day. Cabana and I went for a morning walk around SB Lake. At the midway point, Cabana was on her flexi leash and stopped to sniff a clump of weeds. She suddenly had a violent attack of sneezing, sneezing repeatedly and so hard that she hit her nose on the gravel path, causing her nose to bleed.

A woman who was passing by said that Cabana must have gotten a dreaded foxtail seed in her nose. Cabana stopped sneezing for a minute to wag her tail and say hello to the woman. Even when in discomfort, Cabana is still happy to meet a new person! Unfortunately, she also bled all over the woman's shoe.

After a few minutes, the sneezing stopped, and we were able to make it back to the car. Cabana had a few more intermittent sneezing and huffing episodes on the way home, so I called the vet and took the first appointment they had available.

This little bloody shard is the offending seed. How can something so prevalent cause so much trouble! These little seeds are everywhere around here! Poor Cabana had to be sedated, then the vet put a little camera up her nose to find the foxtail seed. I was so thankful that they were able to find it and get it out. I worried that it might have travelled too far up her nasal cavity and that they would either not be able to see it or not be able to reach it. Then, Cabana would have been in further discomfort with no remedy, not to mention that I'd be paying an expensive vet bill for nothing.

The vet said I needed to leave Cabana there for a few hours, so she called me when Cabana was coming out of sedation. I went immediately to pick her up, and she looked so sad and pathetic when they brought her out to me! She was walking a bit drunkenly, since she was still under the effects of sedation. They had put goopy stuff on her eyes to keep them from drying out, which made her look even sadder. And her nose was bloody from all the poking and prodding.

For dinner, the vet instructed us to only give Cabana about half of her usual amount, since she might be likely to vomit. She will also need antibiotics for the next week--which is actually a perk since she gets to take her medicine with a teaspoon of peanut butter. Cabana has never had straight peanut butter before, so she enjoyed that immensely.

But all evening long, Cabana whined miserably and paced, so I know she must have been in pain. At 10:00, though, she settled onto her ottoman bed and went to sleep all night. This morning, she seems to be much better, and she got to have her peanut butter/medicine again.

Sigh. I was so mad at myself for letting Cabana sniff in those weeds. But I didn't even see any foxtails in that clump (the wind must have blown the seed there), so that means we'll have to avoid tall grass and weeds all together. No more favorite walking paths during the spring and summer, while the grasses and weeds are high and dry. We'll stick to the paved sidewalks and manicured grass for a while.