Dog Days

*This post is from the spring of 2012. I don't know how it got overlooked...

Wednesday afternoon, our little princess, Dollface began scratching. I asked her "Do you have a flea?" No answer, just more scratching.

After picking up my daughter from school, she calls out, "Mom, I think Dollface has fleas!" Had she seen any flea? "No", just scratching.

So I promptly put a vial of Advantage on her (the dog (o; ) and a couple of hours later, we all headed out to dinner.

When we returned, Ari noticed that Dollface looked puffy around her neck area and when I looked down, her collar looked a bit tight and she had bumps all over her head! I removed the collar & inspected her a little further and then promptly called an after hours vet. The person I talked said to keep a watchful eye on her and maybe give her some children's Benadryl. We did and then I bathed her thinking she might be having an adverse reaction to the Advantage.

She continued to scratch throughout the evening but acted otherwise, normal. Eating, drinking, going potty, playing...and ScRaTcHiNg.

Thursday morning, she looked much better. No head bumps and only slight puffiness in her neck and face. We gave her another dose of Benadryl and I called our vet. After I explained the situation, the tech said they were seeing more allergic reactions since the weather was warming up and there were more bugs out. Since Dollface had been out in the backyard early the morning this all started, she surmised that she may have gotten bitten and was having an allergic reaction. "Keep giving Benadryl very 8 hours but if she isn't continuing to get better by one o'clock bring her in."

Well, come Saturday morning, she's scratching, scratching, scratching & I'm feeling terrible that she's suffered this long. To make matters worse, I was scheduled to work & wouldn't be able to take her to the vet, who would only be open a short time that day. Hubby volunteers to take her, bless his heart, he's not used to being the take the babies to the doctor parent, unless we go together.

All's well that ends well. The vet gave her a shot, and a homeopathic ointment to put on the rashy areas where the skin had gotten broken from all that scratching ): She's all better now & sleeping comfortably, none the worse for wear.

And so ends yet another saga that contributes to my "mother guilt".

Am I the only one that has this?