Thursday, June 19, 2008

Panic

We hit crisis mode yesterday for probably the first time of Avi's life.

Aimee took Avi to the vet for his 3-month check-up and to get his distemperment shots. What should have been a normal visit, aside from the vet alerting Aimee that Avi has a "hard bite" (no surprise) which is a "bad trait", turned to panic nearly two hours after the visit.

Avi had an allergic reaction to the shot, causing his whole body to swell up... eyes closed, lips and gums swollen, pads puffed to the point that he could not walk. She called the vet, got Avi some Benedryl (upon their suggestion), then called me. Because the swelling was not going down nearly an hour after taking the medicine, we took Avi back to the vet.

To make a long story short, he now has to get an additional shot before getting these vaccinations in order to counteract an allergic reaction.

...but our little guy is okay... and that is what matters most.

-Matthew

2 comments:

Kim said...

Oh, Poor puppy! I am glad he is OK.

If Avi is already having reactions to his vaccinations, I would look at getting titres done in the future (after all his puppy vax are complete) instead of vaccinating every year. Allergic reactions tend to get worse as exposure to the allergent increases. I do not vaccinate every year(my dogs got their puppy vaccinations only) because Bernese are prone to auto-immune disorders (including allergies) and vaccinations have been linked to auto-immune diseases.

Matthew C. Winner said...

Wow! Thanks for the excellent advise, Kim. It's reassuring to know we have so many good people looking out for the well-being of our pup.

We will keep your advise in mind!

Sincerely,

-Matthew

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