On Christmas eve, we noticed a bit of swelling on the right side of Panda's face. It wasn't too bad, and she was in great spirits, so we didn't worry, but we kept an eye on it.
By Christmas day, she was very lopsided
Still, her mood was great, she was eating, playing, and generally feeling fine. We called off our plans to go hiking, just to be sure, and decided to closely monitor her for any signs that might suggest an emergency. We'd gladly eat the cost for an emergency vet visit on Christmas, but if we could avoid it and go to her normal vet, that was definitely preferable.
I consulted with a friend who works with dogs, and she assured me that it was something that could wait and an emergency visit wasn't necessary. It was a little nerve wracking but we kept a close eye on her all day.
Panda seemed happy enough that we walked to the neighboring park for a little play in the snow.
1. Leo and the girls, in front of his snowman, 2. Happy girls, running in the snow, 3. Thea goes all Exorcist with her head, 4. Rolling a big snow ball, 5. Tug-o-war, 6. Rolling the second snow ball, 7. Just added snow ball II, 8. Rubbing a sore face in the cool snow, 9. Refining his artwork, 10. Adding the final snow ball, 11. shaping the head, 12. Almost done, 13. Romp in the snow
Throughout the day, her swelling increased, until that evening when her cheek started draining. The pressure was off but by morning, Panda was a little less bright eyed and bushy tailed. The vet was able to see her first thing, so we packed up the girls and headed to the doctor.
Little miss squishied face
After checking her out, the doctor decided that it was probably her cracked molar and that it had abscessed. He gave her some meds for the swelling, infection and pain, and we are scheduled for an extraction next week.
Thea helps her big sis stay brave at the vet.
But we didn't let Thea off the hook, on this trip, while we were there, we had them expel some of her, *ahem* glands. If you have no idea what I'm talking about, I will spare you. If you know what I'm talking about, you KNOW what I'm talking about. Apparently, she let out quite a little squeal of displeasure when the procedure was being performed. This is a new thing for us. Panda is far too proper and clean to ever have stinky gland problems. Somehow, it just seems appropriate that the little stinker would.
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Comments (17)
Aw, poor Panda! Glad it wasn't a big deal problem though, and you could avoid the e-vet. I hate going there! It's such a sad place.
Posted by Marlena | December 30, 2008 7:24 AM
Posted on December 30, 2008 07:24
glad to hear panda is doing well. sounds like she handled it beautifully.
Posted by brook | December 29, 2008 10:14 AM
Posted on December 29, 2008 10:14
I just saw this, since my internet was down for 4 DAYS.
Thinking good thoughts for Panda, and hoping all is well. I had to deal with a draining abscess on the face of a cat I was pet-sitting for right before Christmas. But cats are pretty prone to abscesses, and this one wasn't too bad.
Posted by Janice in GA | December 29, 2008 9:51 AM
Posted on December 29, 2008 09:51
Poor Panda. I'm so glad she was able to wait to see her normal vet. A holiday visit to the emergency vet is never a good time.
I still can't believe how much snow you all have. I'm glad you're making the most of it while it's there. xo
Posted by Cookie | December 28, 2008 12:52 PM
Posted on December 28, 2008 12:52
poor pups :( i hope panda is feeling better! was her molar cracked previously?
Posted by mai | December 28, 2008 10:37 AM
Posted on December 28, 2008 10:37
Hope Panda is feeling better now.
Mum's face gets loop-sided sometimes, but that's because she has sinus problems. And usually when her face is swollen, she gets really 'aggressive', if you know what I mean...
Posted by Gigner aka Beethoven | December 28, 2008 2:59 AM
Posted on December 28, 2008 02:59
Glad Panda is feeling better and I hope the extraction goes well!
Thea is such a good little sister!
Posted by mk | December 27, 2008 6:31 PM
Posted on December 27, 2008 18:31
Woah, poor Panda had quite a day! The gland thing is NOT pleasent! Missy's just started a steroid regime and is slowly on the downward spiral. At 11 1/2 she's not doing too badly.
Have a Happy New Year!
Posted by Mary-Kay | December 27, 2008 6:02 PM
Posted on December 27, 2008 18:02
Oh goodness, poor Panda! Hope she feels better soon!
Posted by Stacy | December 27, 2008 5:09 PM
Posted on December 27, 2008 17:09
Aww, poor Panda. Though sometimes I think these things are harder on us than on our pups! They don't have to worry about it in advance, and they actually recover quite quickly, I think.
As for little Miss Thea, you could do the expelling yourself. I know it's gross. Zero doesn't have that problem, but I always try when I give him a bath. I cover my hand with a spare cleaning rag first. He doesn't like it, but then, he doesn't love the whole bath thing very much anyway.
Posted by maria | December 27, 2008 10:43 AM
Posted on December 27, 2008 10:43
Awwhh poor Panda...I'm glad she's better...
Looks like the two of them really enjoyed their romp in the snow! :)
Posted by Ruinwen | December 27, 2008 6:04 AM
Posted on December 27, 2008 06:04
Oh, poor baby girl! (Well, poor Thea too, who probably thought she was just there to heckle Panda.)
We once had a "Is that chocolate sauce? Oh jeez, it smells like fish, oh jeezopete, oh christ, what the hell is that doing there, oh f--- I've got to wash my hands..." moment. A vet recommended oat bran scattered on the food, but I'm a bad mommy and haven't tried that yet.
Posted by Wendy | December 27, 2008 1:08 AM
Posted on December 27, 2008 01:08
Wow, I can so swap "gland" stories with you. I'll spare your blog, but wow, have I got stories.
Posted by Jasmin | December 26, 2008 11:40 PM
Posted on December 26, 2008 23:40
I'm glad Panda is doing better and I hope her extraction goes okay! Poor Thea...one of my dogs recently went through one of THOSE and we definitely didn't discuss it further when we got home.
Posted by monica | December 26, 2008 9:40 PM
Posted on December 26, 2008 21:40
Poor Panda! Don't worry too much about the tooth extraction, though. Our dachshund, Jilly, used to have them far too frequently--she had an ongoing gum disease problem, and only had two teeth left when she died, poor thing. But the extractions never bothered her too much--she'd just be quiet for a day or two, and then she was fine.
Give Panda a hug for me! (Thea, too. And I DO know what you mean!)
Posted by --Deb | December 26, 2008 8:41 PM
Posted on December 26, 2008 20:41
I'm glad your pup is okay! Is looks like they really enjoyed the snow! My dog is being a little wimpy about it.
Posted by Casey | December 26, 2008 6:29 PM
Posted on December 26, 2008 18:29
hahaha, I've never had that "performed" on my dogs, well one of my older dogs, when he was like 11 once. When willow was a puppy (the big golden, and pretty big for a puppy) she got very scared when i tried to take her to petsmart and freaked out, I had to have a stranger picker her up and carry her to the car beause she was going to escape me (too strong). As he placed her into the car, she "expelled" herself on the front seat. OMG IT SMELLED SOOO BAD!!! Thank goodness I had the element then which was easy to clean.
Posted by pixie | December 26, 2008 5:15 PM
Posted on December 26, 2008 17:15