Help!!! Dog ATTACKED by skunk! 2nd UPDATE post 18

[chickenwhisperer]

Skunks are the #1 animal to be concerned about rabies . . .
Just sayin . . .

I certainly wouldnt be posting on BYC website for advice before I, at least, called my vet . . .
Just sayin . . .

Of course the vet gonna tell you to come in and get a booster and charge for a visit, and whatever else they could sell you, but why take the chance, go get the booster, and see what they say.
It sounds like maybe the dog needs a checkup at the vet, after all, arent rabies shots every 3 years, thats a long time if thats the last time . . .
Just sayin . . .

 

[Karrie13]

I did dig out some medical gloves from my pet emergency kit and cleaned out her wounds which were more puncture than torn skin (good I think). As soon as it was daylight I gave her a good bath too with peroxide, baking soda, and dawn soap mixture on her body and vinegar on her face to help take away some of the smell. It did help but didn’t eliminate it entirely. I called my vet as soon as it opened (they weren’t on-call last night a vet about an hour and a half away from me was) and explained what had happened. They asked me questions about the skunk and dog then recommended that I bring the skunk into them so they could send it off to the University of Min. to get tested. I of course had to pay for the shipping and testing of the dead skunk because apparently the state doesn’t pay for it anymore. I paid for it so that we would know for sure what is going on. The vet couldn’t get Trooper in until 2:00 yesterday afternoon. I was upset about that but it was the best that they could do. She was given an exam by the vet and a rabies booster shot. By that time the ankle the skunk was latched onto was quite swollen so she is also on Antibiotics. I didn’t have any antibiotics in the house, I always keep PennG for the horses but it was expired by about 6 months. Need to pick some more up.

The vet said that she isn’t to concerned at this point about rabies since the attack was at night and seemed like normal behavior of a trapped skunk. We will just have to wait and see. Right now, Trooper is home quarantined until we get the results back which should be on Tuesday…. Such a long wait. If it is negative then everything goes back to normal. If it is positive she will be quarantined at home for 6 months confined in a kennel with only one adult person responsible for her care and she will receive several more rabies shots. If she starts showing signs of rabies she will be put down immediately but if things are fine after 6 months she will be free to be a normal dog again. I really hope it comes back negative, I don’t think confinement for 6 months would be fair to her. She loves to get out and play ball with her boy, run with him when he rides his bike, sit under the shade of a tree, or just following him around. We will just have to wait and see.

Today her swelling is about the same as last night but she seems to be lethargic, not her normal happy self. I am thinking she is just tired from her ordeal, she isn’t a young pup anymore at 7 almost 8 years old.

Once the results come back, I will update this post.

 

[MomtoSyd&Emma]

Poor Trooper and poor you all!

PLEASE keep us posted on all results! I feel horrible that you all are having to go through this!

Your post reminded me though that our Boxers rabies JUST expired so off to the Vet today he goes for his booster!

 

[cmjust0]

Quote:

ME!

:

The skunk was IN the kennel, which meant it was trapped in an enclosure with the dog. A fight is precisely what I'd expect to have happen in that situation.

One more reason to think I really should have gone to vet school instead of choosing to work with these stupid computers all day.

Seriously, though...I think it'll come back negative, and I'm sure the dog will be fine now that he's on antibiotics..

(...just to further irk myself, let me see if I can guess...did he prescribe Clavamox, by any chance? )​

 

[Karrie13]

(...just to further irk myself, let me see if I can guess...did he prescribe Clavamox, by any chance? )

Thanks! I am more hopeful now than when it all happened. It was a scary situation. Yes, that is what the vet prescribed!​

 

[cmjust0]

Quote:
Thanks! I am more hopeful now than when it all happened. It was a scary situation. Yes, that is what the vet prescribed!

Where's the "slaps self in the face" emoticon when you need it?

I didn't learn this until just a few years ago, but my paternal grandfather was the "country vet" in the area when my dad was a kid.. ZERO medical training at all; just a knack for it...everybody in the area brought him their sick animals. My maternal grandfather always wanted to be a physician, too, but had to drop out of school in 6th grade to support his family...he was SUPER INTELLIGENT, though. My aunt (his daughter) actually went on to become an MD, while another aunt and my mom became RNs..

Sometimes I think.....I'm only 32, ya know.......I *could* go back to school..

Anyway...super glad to hear your pup's been treated, and like I said, I really think everything's gonna turn out to be perfectly fine.

 

[dutchhollow]

I can say that my dogs have killed a lot of skunks, and have never been bitten, maybe because while skunk is spraying or thinking about it they grab them and break their neck, but I have never seen one attack.
Did they tell you to not let those punctures close up? Like a cat bite, if you let them close the outside will heal and you will get an abcess (the swelling) clavomox is a good strong antibiotic, but wound care with punctures is very important.

 

[Karrie13]

I just got a call from the Department of Health with the results. It is positive, the skunk had rabies. Luckily we didn't touch it or anything so we don't need rabies shots. I am now waiting on a call from the Department of Animal Health to learn what I need to do for Trooper. I am so sad.

 

[MomtoSyd&Emma]

Quote:
oh no, I just knew it did, dang it! Poor Trooper has to go through all this junk now, and so do you all! Darn darn darn. Please keep us posted along the long road!

 

[Redyre Rotties]

Get blood drawn on your dog NOW and send it to Kansas State for a Rabies titer. That is all I can offer. I'm so sorry to hear.

If I were you, I would take the Rabies shots, anyone who was near the skunk or touched it or your dog after the attack.

If you have been infected, you are dead unless you get the shots.