And We Are Back!

Continued from here…

It was Sunday evening.  We had just returned from the Emergency Vet where they changed Duke’s bandage. 

Scott was working on his computer and talking on the phone at the dining room table.  The weather was beautiful, so we left the door to the great room open and the dogs were running and and out, some playing at Scott’s feet.  I was working on my computer in the dog room/office.  Suddenly, I heard a scuffle… similar to a dog fight… but different, quieter.  I listened harder and then heard Scott scream “I have to go”.  I bolted into the room just in time to see Tuck stumbling out from under the dining room table – LC had attacked her, with Scott sitting less than a foot away. 

Tuck was making the most horrific screech I have ever heard.  I scooped her up, speaking to her softly and she stopped crying.  I ran her into the dog room, away from all of the other dogs.  A single trickle of blood was running down the side of her face… and then I saw her eyes.  I set her on the dresser, looking at her face on, not believing what I was seeing.  Both of Tuck’s eyes had popped out of her head. 

Immediately, I screamed, “We have to go back to the doctor!  NOW!”  As I dashed out of the room with Tuck in my arms, Scott threw LC into a kennel and we bolted to the car.  I frantically dumped out my purse on the floor of the car, searching for Duke’s medical record with the ER Vet’s phone number on it.  Finally I found it and called to let them know we were on our way.  

Scott drove like he was in Nascar.  He was on a mission – a Daddy saving his girl.  We arrived in record time.  I ran inside, handed Tuck to the technician waiting at the door for me and burst into tears. 

I have been through a lot with dogs – countless dog fights, broken bones, surgeries, seen horrible abuse cases, even held one as he died in my arms.  All of that was hard, but nothing could have prepared me for something happening to Tuck.  Panic and guilt ripped through my whole body and I sobbed hysterically.  The ER staff was amazing.  They did everything they could to calm me and reassure me that this something they see all of the time:  The Brussels Griffon is a brachycephalic breed, distinguished for their protruding eyes and “swished” in faces.  The slighest trauma to the head or eyes can cause them to bulge or pop out.  I had read all about this and even seen pictures.  But, nothing prepared me to see my little girl like that. 

After a short time, the Vet came to talk with us.  She was very happy to report that Tuck’s right eye had actually gone back in on its own.  Her sight appeared to be completely normal.  However, the left eye was in bad shape.  She would need to stay over night so they could sedate her and perform emergency surgery.  They brought her to us so we could say goodbye.  Both Scott and I cried as we kissed her good night.  

On top of my concerns for Tuck, I was overwhelmed with fear about what this would mean for LC and my fostering in general.  I was furious with LC.  She had been fighting with the other dogs for weeks.  But, I always associated it with something… first her food, then her kennel, then my attention… it was never her fault.  This time, there was no excuse left.  Tuck has shared her home, food, toys, attention, parents and space with over 100 foster dogs.  They have all treated her like the royalty she is and never dared to even look at her wrong.  She respects each of them and they respect her.  LC crossed a line… one that was inexcusable.  Yet, I knew that she wasn’t trying to be mean.  She didn’t intentionally hurt Tuck.  When we got home, we were angry with LC.  We were kind to her, but we didn’t play ball.  We moved her and her kennel to the basement in order to keep her completely separate from the other dogs.   

Scott held me as I cried myself to sleep that night.  Neither of us slept much.  We were back at the Emergency Vet by 7:00 AM in order to pick Tuck up (that is trip four in three days, in case you are counting).  Her left eye was sewn shut and her head was engulfed in a plastic cone.  She was on several medications and ordered to remain stress-free for two weeks.  At that time, the stitches would be removed and we would find out if she had vision in her left eye. 

 

 

Before we left the house, Scott and I created a fourth “quarantined” area.  The dog room would be just for Tuck – no other dogs allowed.  We put together the softest bed we could find and bowls we knew would be big enough to allow for her cone.  This meant that Duke would be kept in his own room, LC in the basement, Tuck in the dog room and Tally, Fred and Spirit would be kept together. 

The next seven days were a series of medications, doggie rotations, TLC and more trips to the ER Vet. 

We returned to the ER Vet on Monday night for Duke’s daily bandage change.  Within an hour of returning home, he had managed to pull it off (despite wearing a plastic cone)…. resulting in our sixth trip to the Vet in three days.  Finally, after he ripped that one off, they decided it was good for the wounds to “get some air” when we returned for our seventh trip.   

To be continued…