Thank GOD Koda is ok. Thank you for the update

I'm glad to hear he is doing better...another thought on what it could be. Do you have snakes around? We have what we call a blow snake here...not what it is really called, just what we call it. It looks simular to a corbra and spits venom at small animals and will cause the same type of symptons. My schnauzer had this happen to her 3 different times.

I hope you find out what happened.

I'm so glad Koda is doing better! I hope you find some answers to what was causing it. And I hope Koda gets to go home soon!

I am just seeing this thread .I am very sorry Koda was this ill. The pic. of him were scary. I am glad he is at the vet and doing better. It definetaly seems like he got into something. I hope it can be discovered what it was. Do your have wild mushrooms growing in the grass? Maybe he ate something like that? :eek:

Wooooooooo, hoooooooooo!

I'm so glad Koda is feeling better. That bothered me all night. You deserve an award for all you did to mobilize help. Calling your hubby repeatedly, calling the national poison line. You quite likely saved his life.

Props to hubby for taking it seriously and coming home from work, too!

Let us know how he does in the coming days. I'd be real interested to know if they ever diagnose the problem.

Thank Heavens!! :cheer: I'm so relieved to hear that Koda is better! I can't imagine how scared and helpless you must have felt.
You and Koda will remain in my prayers.

Wonderful news!!! I'm so glad he is feeling better. You and Koda are in my prayers.:animal-pa

Thank you so much for the update!! I am soooo happy to hear he is feeling better!!

Spider Bite
 

A SPIDER, a gross disgusting SPIDER, bit my baby. They found 2 tiny spots on his back down near his butt this morning which the vet concluded was a spider bite. The minute he told me this it made total sense. Yesterday at dinner time my kids called me out on the front porch to see this spider they found. It was shiny black and made my skin crawl. as Jason went to kill it, it snuck between 2 of the floor boards (2x4's) If our porch wasn't enclosed at the bottom edge of it by lattice I would have made him find it. But honestly living out in the country and by lowland swampy state wildlife areas we see a LOT of spiders, but I had never seen this type before and it gave my the chills. We even had a banana spider that lived on the back corner of our small barn roof for almost a year. We never bothered it as the webs it spun were beautiful to see and the kids were never in that area of our property. But anyways Koda and Kammie were out front right beside the front porch on their tieouts last night while we did yard work. Koda barks really high pitched a lot outside cause hes messing around with the kittens so we are assuming that is when he got bit, but we never could tell a difference because he always does. Hope that made sense, lol! The tiny little puncture wounds have no swelling or redness what so ever so they can rule out a brown recluse as there venom destroys all the flesh, muscle and tissue around the entrance. We are thinking the spider we saw and with all his symptoms it was a black widow (shudder). The black widow spider produces a protein venom that affects the victim’s nervous system. Our vet said it is common for the victims of spider bites including the black widow can take up to 8 hours to see any problems. And the main symptoms are muscle rigidity especially in the abdomen and in dogs thus causing the stiff straight legs (Koda's body was VERY stiff and tight feeling and legs were stiff) Facial swelling (Koda's eyes seemed like he couldn't open them and remember how I said his face looked "sick":() nausea/vomiting (He vomited 7 or 8 times about an hour before his symptoms began) difficulty in breathing (his heart rate was extremely fast and he had been doing what seemed like reverse sneezing but vet said it was most likely wheezing, those were the first signs) muscle spasms (his lower body trembling) weakness/dizziness (why he couldn't walk)
So now I have been flipping out all night everytime the fan hits me or a stray strand of hair touches my neck thinking it's a spider :eek: YUCK, it makes my heart race to even think about one of those things being in my home and near my kids and even getting Koda again or Kammie. Today was such a messed up day that we were not able to get any insecticide to spray, but we will this weekend because the kids are going to g-mas and were taking the furbutts to a friends house and will be staying with them for a day and a half (previously planned) so then we can spray a decent amount and no one will be here around the chemicals.
Oh my I didn't mention, Koda will be coming home tomorrow morning!! :D The vet wanted to keep him so he can run more bloodwork this evening and do a skin scraping to test and make sure the venom level is out or considerably lower before sending him home as he didn't have an antivenin. I felt so terribly bad today going and seeing him and having to leave him. He was so happy to see me and then I broke his heart when I left. I could hear him crying all the way to the front door :( which then totally broke my heart. I just sat in my car and cried for 10 minutes. The vet assistant had seen me out an exam room window and came out to my car and told me I could come back in and be with him in the visiting room as long as I needed to be. But I had to decline knowing I would only break his heart again when I left and I would be sitting in my car crying again. I have had a horrible headache all day from literally crying for hours last night/early morning and so many times today that this is the first time I could bear looking at the computer.
I called back in right before closing and my boy is acting completely fine. :D and his IV is out and he's eating/drinking/peeing/pooping/playing just like he should!

I am so relieved, I really thought last night like my world was coming down around me. Koda was sick, I couldn't get a hold of Jason, I had no car, I felt so helpless. It was just horrible. Please, everyone needs to have a plan for an emergency. You don't want to end up in the position I did. I would never have forgiven myself if Koda hadn't made it due to my own negligence of not being prepared. It seems like bad things happen at night around here. Kammie digested the Xylitol around midnight on a weekend. My vet is probably going to run if he sees my # come up again while he's sleeping, lol!

I want to thank each and every one of you for your compassion and prayers. :thankyou2
When I saw the amount of replies and views and read all of your words I
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betcha can't guess ;)
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started crying again :) The overpouring amount of love for our furry friends here on YT is amazing! You all are such wonderful people and I thank you from my heart for your continued concern. I will try and promise that there will be no more bad events for me for a long time, and I can go back to showing my love and concern for all of your babies again!
:ghug::ghug:

My, what an ordeal you had! I am so glad they figured out what it was and that he is doing better. Get some rest, I am sure you need it.

Hugs,

Nancy

Wow, I would have never suspected a spider. Eek. Another thing to worry about with our pets. You did GREAT taking care of your pup.

I just saw your link to this post. I am so happy your Koda is okay!! That must have been horrible, I can't begin to imagine. *Great suggestion about having an emergency plan!
I am SO glad Koda is okay and is coming home tomorrow!
I'm sure you will sleep much better tonight!

I am so happy to hear Koda is doing well, and hope you can get a good night's sleep yourself. It's great that you know what caused it, because not knowing can just drive you nuts wondering. Now you can make it safer for everybody.

Im so glad, he is doing better, please dont forget to post pictures when he is back home !!! so we can see his happy face !!!!!
hugs from Kaylee and Kuma

OMG! I am so glad you got little Koda to the vet so fast!

I hate spiders. My daughter got blood poisoning from a spider bite.

So glad everything turned out OK and Koda is doing much better. Spiders :eek: That's amazing they were able to figure that out.

We have bugs! No black widows, but my wife's a certified arachnophobe, and I hear her screams regularly. :)

I'm going to look into whether we have poisonous ones now, though.

P.S.
We don't have any snakes, though. Whew.

Happy to hear he is better!! This is my first time seeing this thread today, glad to see that you found out what it was. I didn't even think about it being a spider or any bug!

I bet I say this on behalf of everyone, but you are very VERY welcome. We will always support you and anyone for that matter. I am just relieved that Koda made and will be coming home before you know it. Good luck with spraying the insecticide. You may want to concentrate under the porch as well just in case it made it back outside. I hope you nothing but joy when Koda returns. Good luck catching that nasty spider! Who would have guess that would have been it?! Ew.... I am not a spider fan by any means.

P.S. Jack wanted to extend a hello and possibly one of his toy mice to Koda (at least I am assuming the toy.... maybe he just wants me to play. I am not quite sure.) Good luck none-the-less. I am happy he is coming home.:D

Erin!!! OMG, I am SOOO SORRRYYYY I missed this post about Koda!! I've not been here as much as I normally am with things we've been dealing with here. When I do come in, I normally go to the general board and the Special Thoughts board. You've been there for me through so much these past weeks and I am so very sorry I missed this and wasn't here for you. I'm so glad Koda is ok, I hope he's home with you by now. God had I seen this when it first came on, I woulda woke Ross up out of bed and made him help me hunt you down so we could get you and Koda to the vet. We're not that far away, (Wadsworth.) I hope the spray kills that darn nasty spider that bit Koda. That has to be so scary for you knowing it was still in the house and could bite one of the skin or furkids or you and the hubby. Please give Koda a kiss and hug from me and tell him I'm praying for him and I hope he's all better now. Again, I am so sorry I am just now seeing this post.

I am so glad to hear Koda is going to be okay. I, too, live out in the country and worry about this kind
of thing all the time. Everytime we walk outside there is some kind of bug on the porch and Pepper thinks they are his playthings. :eek:

I just read this entire thread for the first time & of course I had to fast forward to see if Koda was OK. So glad he is!! But what a time you had. How scary about the spider!:eek: I cried when I read your updates......especially about having to leave/crying in the car. Can imagine you just had to let all the emotions out & hating to leave your baby. You were a wonderful Mommy & got him the help he needed! Hugs to you both!! :aimeeyork:)

So glad to hear everything is going to be okay. You are so right about having an emergency plan. I never thought about it before but you bet I am now. Can't wait to see pictures of a happy healthy Koda.

Oh, ERIN! I am SO pleased to read your last update (well, not about your tears, but you know what I mean) and hear that Koda will soon be home!!!! :D

This is such a scary reminder about bites - bc we too have spiders in AZ (esp. brown recluse). And really, a "bite" just isn't the first thing that comes to mind when strange symptoms appear.

:bravo:I'm so very glad he's going to be ok. You and Koda need a nice long rest.

I'm glad to hear she's doing better! Spider bites are very dangerous and can even cause a PERSON severe damage. Poor baby you mus thave been terrified, but i'm happy she's doing better now.
My father in law was in the hospital for 3 days because of a spider bite and we could NOT recognize his FACE! from how swollen it was.

A Black widow spider!! :eek::eek:

We have those around here too, so I will definitely be careful with Gizmo. I'm so glad Koda is doing better, and I think you are very smart to use the insecticide when the kids and furbabies aren't around.

You might want to call your local agriculture extension agency and get a recommendation for an insecticide that works for the black widow spider. Or call a local pest control place for their recommendations. I just know that some insecticides don't kill all insects or spiders.

Okay, I think I'm checking for black widows this weekend as well! :eek: