Ick

Fortunately, out of focus. Where did Zelda get a bacterial infection from???

Did she cut herself chewing on the sardine tin (yeah, we give our pups strange toys) and then drink from the rotting-leaf-filled pond that finally thawed? Did she get a cut chewing on fruit tree branches that I pruned and then dig in my load of topsoil? Did some bacteria sneak up on her and attack while she was dozing in the warm spring sunshine?

We've no clue. The only change we can figure out is the thawing of the mucky pond that she loves to drink from.

It started like scrapes on her chin, spread to her lower lips, and when it reached her nose we consulted the vet. One IV, a large vial of Keflex pills and a tube of ear ointment (we wouldn't have realized it had spread there but Kharma began to lick Zelda's ears for her) later...and a bill for over a hundred dollars...doggies can be expensive.

Day after day passed and the infection spread and the pustules enlarged. Her hair fell out. Do we call the vet again or not? Look at it each day--any improvement? We Googled "canine bacterial infection" and "Keflex" and decided the treatment was appropriate. If it would just work. Sometime soon.

By Saturday she'd been on antibiotics for six days and we thought maybe we were seeing granulation, but if there was any further spread another vet visit was in order on Monday.

This morning she turned the corner. She came out of the crate with a tinge of healing pink on them. No puffiness. Definitely better!

This was a long week. Let's hope the improvement continues!