Dogs Can be Expensive

[Outdoor Writer]

Hershey went under the knife this week to the tune of about $800.

 

It all started last Fri. when I noticed his right ear flap was the size of a tennis ball. So I did a search on the Web and discovered he had an "aura hematoma." It was the result of either shaking his head or scratching his ear, causing blood vessels to pop. They then fill up the inside of the ear flap.

 

So I called his vet and managed to get him in there within an hour. They drained the ear but said it would likely fill back up within hours and would require surgery, which we set up for last Tues. And they were right: the ear was filled with blood again by the time we got home.

 

The surgery entails making slits in the under ear flap to drain and clean it. Then they do a series of cross stitches, kinda like quilting it to close the space between the upper and lower parts of the ear flap.

 

His head is completely wrapped now with a big bandage from just behind his eyes to his collar. He hates it, but I'm supposed to remove it later today.

 

 

[Non-Typical Solutions]

Looks pretty dejected doesn't he?? They can get pretty expensive, hope he recovers well.

[lucky2hunt]

Poor guy, hope he feels better. Dogs can look so pitiful when they don't feel good

[Outdoor Writer]

One of the reasons he isn't quite bouncing about is because I have him on painkillers. They make him sort of lethargic, but he still wants to play with his tennis ball often.

[Pine Donkey]

My Winchester had the same issue. she had to wear a drain for a month. $800 must be the going rate. Hope Hersey feels better soon.

[Outdoor Writer]

My Winchester had the same issue. she had to wear a drain for a month. $800 must be the going rate. Hope Hersey feels better soon.

 

 

Yup. Hershey has three drains inserted. When I took the bandage off earlier, the lowest drained a bit of blood, but it eventully quit.

[CouesWhitetail]

poor Hershey! but it's nice you can get him some great medical care. he will bounce back soon!

[Outdoor Writer]

poor Hershey! but it's nice you can get him some great medical care. he will bounce back soon!

 

Right. Enough money gets about anything. It didn't cost me near that to have a double hernia operation a couple years back.

[Tines]

Tony,

 

We had a golden retriever with the same problem. After a drain was inserted once, about a month later it came back. Vet also recommended a change in her diet. We found that she had an allergy to wheat which is why her ears itched. She'd shake and scratch her head so much, causing the vessels to break in the ear. Hopefully you (or Hershey) don't have to do this again....

[ruffcountry]

you might want to check into vitamin c supplement . vitamin c and bioflavanoids can help strengthen blood vessel walls . dogs can produce their own vit c but some say in times of stress they need more , others claim they never need vit c supplement .maybe ask the Dr. what he thinks . good luck

[Outdoor Writer]

Tony,

 

We had a golden retriever with the same problem. After a drain was inserted once, about a month later it came back. Vet also recommended a change in her diet. We found that she had an allergy to wheat which is why her ears itched. She'd shake and scratch her head so much, causing the vessels to break in the ear. Hopefully you (or Hershey) don't have to do this again....

 

 

Yes, just draining it and/or inserting a drain likely wouldn't cure the problem. That's why they did the surgery, which basically is meant to seal the space in between the two layers of the ear flap so there's no where for the blood to build up again. It seems to be working. I took the bandage off early yesterday, and the ear hasn't filled at all since then.

 

His head shaking and/or scratching resulted from a minor infection in that ear. He's on two different antibiotics, an ear wash solution and a cream now to get rid of that.