Oh I know...I have heard about this so many times. My aunt and uncle that live in the country had several Emu's (medium sized ones) that they were keeping on their land for a friend, and one morning they went out there to check on them and they were all dead because a TON of fire ants had gotten to them :eek: :( I will never forget my aunt telling me that, and that is what I kept playing over and over again in my head and it SCARED ME TO DEATH :cry: I thought, my goodness...if they can do that to EMU'S...just imagine what they could do to my tiny little girl :cry: Let me tell you I was moving faster than I have ever moved in my life...bathing her and getting all of those ants off of her, running to get the Nutri-Cal...oh my goodness I was just a MESS :cry: I was freaking out enough about the ants, but when I SAW how WHITE her gums were....omg :cry: :cry: I have never in my life seen a dogs gums so white. I'm talking as white as snow - not a speck of even a LIGHT shade of pink ANYWHERE to be seen :cry: My hubby actually didn't know why I was freaking out about that so much, and then I made him look at Stedman's gums so that he could SEE what I was talking about (the difference in the color and what their gums are SUPPOSED to look like)...and he was like, WOW :eek: After that, he got very scared himself. Oh, I don't ever want to go through anything like that again! :(

Awwww, thank you so much Linda :) I really do try to be a good mommy :( Sometimes these babies just scare me sooo much! My friend called right after it all happened and she could tell how upset I was...she said, "Oh my gosh, what's wrong!?!?!?" and I told her that I just got done having a heart attack, lol :rolleyes: :( Sheesh. That was MY work out for the day!

Oh Trina! :( I know sweetie....I know this is just tearing you apart because I have been there...only a year ago, and it still seems like yesterday :cry: And you know what, don't even worry about replying to everyone in your thread...we all understand COMPLETELY that you are going through such a hard time right now, so please...really, that is the very LAST thing that you should be worried about sweetie :( You just need time to heal, but first...you need time to grieve. I can tell you that I cried myself to sleep for I don't know HOW many nights after we lost our Cocker Spaniel last year. I just took it really hard because it hurt SO BAD...it still does. But, time DOES ease some of the pain. Just look at those three precious babies of yours and love them and cuddle them and I'm sure that seeing their sweet faces will bring some joy back into your heart :)

I am SO glad to hear that baby Gemma is doing better...thank God is right! She is such a sweet angel...please give her big hugs for us ok?? And Vixxen and Truffles too :hug:

Brooke, I'm so sorry and I can imagine how scared you were! Poor little baby Tatum!!! That picture of Steddy checking up on her is absolutlely priceless!!!

Jake and me are sending Tatum lots of gentle snuggles, and I will remember her in my prayers!!

I hate fire ants too! :mad:

OMG Brooke! I just read this!! I am soooo sorry about little Tatum. My heart was just beating so fast reading it hoping that nothing really bad happened to her. I am sooo glad she is doing much better now, whew!!! I hate fire ants. I remember getting bit by one one time when i was 10 and it hurt soooo much, i can't imagine how bad it hurt for tatum her being so tiny. I just hate those ants! :mad:

Thank you so much girl! She is doing SO much better. The little turd actually just ripped her hair down and is running wild and is bouncing off the walls (actually off her BROTHER :rolleyes:) LOL :p I'm betting that he is wishing she was still crashed out in her bed right about now, LOL! Hah :D My hubby goes, "Oh my God...she is sooooo back. :rolleyes:" :lol tears I guess some Nutri-Cal, Benadryl, and a nap on her nice warm heating pad snuggled up in her bed did the trick! ;) :thumbup: Thank God, cause boy did she have us WORRIED.

But yes...you are so right girl. My husband was SO scared this morning when he woke me up. I COMPLETELY forgot to take her hair down last night before we went to bed (I NEVER do that either! It just completely slipped my mind last night...) and so she still had the rubber band in with her bow also clipped in - and of course he never takes her hair down because he is always so scared that he is going to pull her hair or get it tangled in a knot when he takes the rubber band out, so he always makes me do it. Oh gosh, he was just totally freaking out because he wanted to get her in the warm water and give her a bath to get all those ants off - but he needed her hair to come down...LOL poor guy, he just didn't know what to do. I gotta admit though, it WAS kinda cute to see this big 6'4 guy holding this tiny little thing, freaking out about TAKING THE BOW OUT OF HER HAIR :D Boy, she will probably gain 10 lbs after all the treats he gave her today because he felt so bad about what happened :p

But anyway...yes, she is MUCH better! She is 100% back to her normal, feisty little self again! YAY!!! :cheer:

Brooke~

I am so sorry to hear about what happened to sweet Tatum! I lived in Texas for a few years and know how awful those fire ants are!! We also had a puppy that was biten by them and it is indeed very frightening to see these little guys going this kind of pain. :( Give Tatum a big hug from us!

Tammy

Thank you so much Selina, you are such a sweetheart :) I thought that picture of Steddy checking up on his baby sister was just so sweet...he was just so concerned :( The little fella just knew that something wasn't right because he was right in front of her face and she wasn't doing ANYTHING about it, lol. So not normal in THIS house lol :p

Tatum says to tell Jake thank you SO MUCH for all of his snuggles, she is sending him lots right back! :hug: And thank you so much for keeping her in your prayers...you are such a darling! :)

Awww, thanks so much girl, you are so sweet! :) I really was SO worried about her :cry: I am just very thankful that she is all better now :thumbup: I just can't handle things like this - I get so scared and upset! Seeing her sooo lethargic and her gums so white just totally did me in :cry:

Those fire ants really do hurt though! :eek: They always go after my husband when he mowes the yard and he gets sooo SICK of them! :mad: We kill them, but then they just come right back. This time though, we got some stuff that is SUPPOSED to be better - so we are praying that it works! :thumbup:

Thank you girl!! :hug: I totally believe that if you lived here you know how bad these stupid fire ants can be :mad: They are just TERRIBLE! They hurt SO BAD when they bite! My poor husband has had his fair share of fire ant bites...he is just so sick of them by now lol.

I am giving Tatum that big hug for you girl! Thank you so much! :)

Yes, they are nasty...hate them! I still have a scar on the top of my finger from when we were trying to get them off of our puppy. They hurt REALLY bad!!!! Poor Tatum is so tiny, stupid mean fire ants! :(

Tammy

Update On The Tator Tot
 

Thank you EVERYONE for your good thoughts and prayers! :yorkietal

Tatum is doing great now and is up and running and playing and eating - and...attacking her brother again :D LIFE IS GOOD! :thumbup: lol.

The Nutri-Cal and Benadryl worked wonders for her...as well as her heating pad to keep her warm and of course her comfy little bed and her blankies :) And a NAP! By the way she is acting now, you never would have even known what all she went through this morning. She is such a strong little girl - I just love her sooo much! :D

I felt bad earlier when I put her hair up as I wanted to leave it down because I wanted her to be as comfortable as possible :cry: but the poor little thing just couldn't see, so I tried to put just the little purple snap clip in to hold her bangs back so that her hair wouldn't fall down in her eyes where she couldn't see, but her hair was just soo soft after her bath, and it just kept falling out. So I put her hair up in a rubber band but wrapped it loosely so that it wasn't uncomfortable for her, and just added the little snap clip in to help hold it back a little better, away from her eyes. I was just trying to do everything I could to make her as comfortable as I possibly could. I kept telling my husband that I wished it were me who would have gotten bit by those stupid ants instead of my poor sweet little baby girl...she didn't deserve it :cry: I know she was in sooo much pain and was itching like crazy. I can't wait to get my hands on that ant pile tomorrow :D

Anyway, thank you again EVERYONE so much for all of your sweet comments and good thoughts! Tate is doing MUCH better and is actually asleep in bed with daddy right now - and mommy is about to join them...and Stedman too! :D

Goodnight everyone and BIG HUGS to you ALL!! :ghug: WE LOVE YOU GUYS!!!

I am so very sorry! Fire ants are horrible! I am so glad that Tatum is starting to feel better. Sounds like quick thinking on your part spared Tatum much pain and suffering. Sending little Tatum a hug :ghug:

OMG I swear I did not breath while reading your entire post...but now I can breath, Tatum's Okay...I know how frightening the low blood sugar is, thank you God for nutri-cal, but I've never experienced fire ants. Thank goodness you were both there to take care of her...I have actually called my husband home from work, and vice versa, to handle Winston's seizures...It's so hard to do with only one person. Sometimes we feel so helpless when our babies are hurt or sick, but both you and your husband were thinking, and it was a great call, ya done good!!! And little Steadman looked so concerned, how sweet. Poor Tatum had a really rough day, I feel for her and you!!!

:eek: I am so thankful that little Tatum is OK!! Makes me want to put Toto back in her "glass bubble"!! :rolleyes: Since the weather is warm, we have been letting her venture onto the grass more. Tell Tatum that Toto sends her big hugs and little puppy kisses and she is glad that she will be good as new. ;)

That is just horrible. I am sorry Tatum had to go through that. Get well soon little 1:rose:

oh...sweet little Tatum, that must have been so horrible for this little angel. Hope she feels better soon and we are praying for her, and your family. Your hubby shouldn't blame himself, it can happen to anyone.
Boo-Boo and Pheoebe send tons of kisses and hugs.

Just reading this now! OMG! I've been bitten by fire ants and it is PAINFUL! From the sounds of it, she was going into hypovolemic shock - where all the blood was rushing to her organs causing the sypmtoms you saw (shaking, lethargy, dehydration etc). You and your hubby's quick actions saved this precious baby's life yesterday! She was clearly having a severe toxic reaction from the ants' "venom" entering her body - not to mention the pain.

I was going to suggest Benadryl - but it looks like you thought of that quicky - and that helps w/ the inflammation response. Did she swell at all? Oh, poor little baby! When Marcel had a scary event, we also took one of those empty syringes, put water in it and forced it into his mouth - that seemed to help w/ the dehydration.

SO glad to hear she is already feeling better and I'm so sorry you had to watch your baby go through that! Marcel sends his twin kisses, hugs, cuddles, and lots of extra treats (he had to slip that last one in...).

Feel Better Tantum
 

Poor baby girl:eek: How awful and painfull that must have been for Tantum.
Thank heavens your hubby realized what had happened and acted so quickly. I hope she
is much better today. Those ants are horrible insects. I saw them in
S.C. when I was there. Give Tantum a hug and kiss from us.
Feel better little one.

Ahhh So Happy She Is Feeling Ok Again - My Goodness I Am So Glad We Dont Have Fire Ants Over Here In Uk...... I Would Have Panicked Myself...... You Did Really Well To Be Able To Think How Best To Help Her.... Well Done...

Lovely To See Her Brother Concerned For Her.......

Poor baby! Hope she's feeling better soon. Sending her hugs from Otis and Oliver.

Oh my goodness!!! I am so sorry sweet little Tatum had such a scare!!! We are sending little Yorkie kisses and hugs, and healing wishes for Tatum and YOU! hoping she is feeling better and I have to say, the picture of big brother checking up on little sis' just makes my heart smile:)

Thank you, thank you, thank you!
 

Thank you so much everyone...you are all THE BEST! :ghug: I GREATLY appreciate everyone's PM's checking up on the little Tator Tot - since really did go through so much :(

We were actually out of town yesterday, which is why we weren't online...and I know some of you were quite worried about her because of that...and it really does me SO MUCH to us.

We are so blessed to have so many wonderful people that care so much about us...you are all the greatest bunch of FRIENDS anyone could EVER ask for!! We just LOVE you guys!!

Tate is still doing great and you'd never even know that anything happened to her with the way she is acting now - TOTALLY FULL of energy! :D You can still see some of the ant bites when you lift her hair...but other than that, she is EXCELLENT! :thumbup:

So THANK YOU again to everyone for all of your kind words and also for your concern! You seriously are THE BEST!!

:yorkietal

HUGE hugs to EVERYONE from the babies and I! :ghug:

Poor baby! I hope she feels better soon!

OMG!! I missed this about the TaterTot!! I can't bear to think of that sweet, dear, innocent little face covered in fire ants!!!!! Poor little precious baby!! Sending hugs, kisses and puppy licks to make her feel better....:girl_hug::kiss2wm::dogsm2:

I am just seeing this bless that little dollbabies heart...I bet you were scared to death....I am glad she is better you give that sweet baby extra hugs & kisses from my crew...:) She is a brave little girl.....:(

Oh no!!!
Little tatertot... You poor little sweetheart, I am soooo glad to hear that she is feeling better and back to her spicy self again.
Brooke, I can just see you running around going out of your mind about what to do and how to make her feel better. You did everything RIGHT!!! You are such a GOOD mommy. And steddy you are such a good little brother keeping an eye on your sister like that...
Tatertot... stay AWAY from those gosh darn fire ants...

That new fertilizer called Scotts Bonus S MAX Southern Weed And Feed & Fire Ant Killer
Kills Weeds Completely. Strengthens Lawns Against Heat and Drought. Kills AND Prevents Fire Ants for the Entire Season.

This stuff works REALLY GREAT and it weeds and feeds your lawn at the same time. WE use it three times a year and gets rid of those pesky little creatures

Wow, just now getting to read this thread. I'm so glad that everything turned out okay for Tatum. I do understand the scare. A few months ago my Tatum got into something.... at first I thought it was ants but I think it was a reaction to a different kind of grass or weed. We were out of town and I had to leave her and run to the store for Benadryl. It was awful to see her in such pain though. We've had a run in with fire ants too so I know how nasty that can be.

Again, so glad Tatum is feeling better!!

We are so glad Tatum is ok. :) Gosh, we don't like ants, that's for sure.:mad: Chelsey and Charlie send their love. :love: