The Tales of Lilly, The Mud Life Dog
Alien Dog !
by Karen Lee Turner
W
ell this month Lilly threw us a bit of a scary wobbler. Damian had got up early and was presented with a very strange looking dog, definitely not the same dog that went to sleep the night before. Our smooth cute faced pup looked like she had been stung by a gazillion tiny bees, and she had developed a very weird alien looking head!
F
reaked out, and as it was way too early for the vets to be open, Damian began searching the internet for the cause of the bumps, By the time I got up, he had discovered the cause - HIVES! Now the only thing I knew about hives is that teenagers in American movies always seem to break out in them, but I had no idea what they were and how she had developed them, so more internet delving occurred. Once I was properly convinced Damian was correct, I had a look on the other place on the internet that I refer to when it comes to Lilly, the Lurcher Appreciation Facebook group. There were a number of posts about other people's lurchers getting hives, and lots of helpful 'cures'. I take most internet advice under advisement until I can get corroborating science based advice, so armed with ideas my next step was to WhatsApp my friend Pam, who used to be a vet nurse, and is now a trainer of vet nurses, for more solid advice. To be fair the Facebook posters had their advice about right. Hives in dogs is sort of the same as in humans, it is an allergic reaction to some outside influence - an ant bite, insect sting, pollen, something picked up in the grass or even a reaction to sun, and the remedy is similar - take an anti-histamine.
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My friend said hives usually disappear after a day or so, though not always, and I had to keep a eye on Lilly to check that the swellings didn't interfere with her breathing, and to give her Piriton as it would help lessen the itchy and uncomfortable symptoms. By this time the lumps were on the move and were spreading steadily around her body, and I can honestly say I was getting anxious, so I jumped in the car and headed to the chemist to grab some Piriton. On my return Lilly was looking pitiful, with lumps and bumps everywhere, and she just wasn't herself. Pam erred on the side of caution, and told me to start her off with half a tablet (even though with Lilly's weight it said that she could have had up to 3 tablets in 24 hours), and see how things went, and that she could have the other half 12 hours later if she needed it, which would be around 11.30pm.
