bc4ever Posted February 25, 2011 Author Report Share Posted February 25, 2011 Flash backs do fade in time. Grieving for a dog is just a really hard thing. Puncture wounds do swell a lot and hurt and get stiff. You have antibiotics don't you? That's really important. Can you do something in memory of him that will help you. I always plant flowers. Especially the kind that bloom im the spring. That way I have flowers every spring to help me remember. When something awful like that happens it's important to get right back up on the horse before the fear can set in. God bless. Thank you for the info about puncture wounds--you're right too. My hands are really swollen and stiff tonight. I don't know if typing is aggravating it or not but this site is my lifeline right now. And I am on two antibiotics so hopefully infection will not be an issue. We'll probably plant a tree in the back yard--add it to the one in memory of my nephew and the one in memory of my mom. Terry is going to carve a stone with Scooter's name and dates on it. Just so hard to comprehend. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
in2adventure Posted February 25, 2011 Report Share Posted February 25, 2011 I'm so sorry I hope you heal both emotionally and physically very quickly. God speed Scooter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tommy Coyote Posted February 25, 2011 Report Share Posted February 25, 2011 Thank you for the info about puncture wounds--you're right too. My hands are really swollen and stiff tonight. I don't know if typing is aggravating it or not but this site is my lifeline right now. And I am on two antibiotics so hopefully infection will not be an issue. We'll probably plant a tree in the back yard--add it to the one in memory of my nephew and the one in memory of my mom. Terry is going to carve a stone with Scooter's name and dates on it. Just so hard to comprehend. One of the reasons animal bites swell and hurt so much is that it's not just the bite. They bite down with a ton of pressure from their jaws and that bruises stuff. I think the tree is a wonderful idea. One of my customers has lost three of her dogs in the last year and she is having a really hard time. So we are planning a little memorial garden. She really like plants and flowers. If nothing else the physical work really helps. Hang in there. We are all thinking about you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MaggieDog Posted February 26, 2011 Report Share Posted February 26, 2011 I'm just seeing this and wanted to let you know that we're thinking of you and sending lots of healing vibes your way - I know just how wonderful this board can be in times like this. (((((BIG HUGE (tho gentle) HUGS))))) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
urge to herd Posted February 26, 2011 Report Share Posted February 26, 2011 Pam, I'm glad you posted your update. Others have given wise input and advice. Is there any way you can talk with someone soon? You say your appt with a counselor is in March, the sooner you can talk to someone face to face the better. I've a couple things to add about living through very traumatic experiences. Many people who've been in automobile wrecks, etc have exactly the kinds of things you're going through. Dreams, even nightmares, asking 'what if', re-living the incident over and over. It's quite normal, though very, very painful, for these things to be happening. Here are some things that will help - first of all, acknowledge what a huge thing happened to you. Second, stick to a routine of daily living as much as you can. Third, when the memories come up, let them come, but try not to either dwell on them or push them away. They'll fade on their own, in time. I'd also recommend that you talk with your doctor about the amount of pain you're suffering. If you're not already on an anti-inflammatory, ask about talking one. Also ask about mild warmth, that might help the stiffness. Check out the possibility of some physical therapy. And ask if you can have a massage on your neck, shoulders, and feet - I'd bet you're feeling stiff all over, and a massage might help you relax a bit. A memorial to the wonderful joy that Scooter brought into your life is a beautiful idea. I remember the picture of flowers you posted for me and my Terry after we lost Buzz, and think of those when I think of our boy. Please be very kind to yourself and Terry, and know we're all here to support you. Ruth and Terry in California Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
martySQ Posted February 28, 2011 Report Share Posted February 28, 2011 I just cannot believe my eyes or what I just read. How awful. How scary. How upsetting! I am sure you are feeling your loss deeply now, and hope when you look back, you will cherish the good time you had with Scooter, and the awfulness will not be the first thought any more. Be gentle with yourself... you have had a hard year. Follow the advice you would give to another in your situation, and love yourself as much as you would your sister or brother. There is no blame. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bc4ever Posted March 1, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 1, 2011 Landed in the ER yesterday morning with either a major panic attack or a severe reaction to the antibiotics they had me on (Bactrim DS), or both. Couldn't find anything wrong with me so after five hours they sent me home with some Xanax and told me to take it easy. Today we got a letter from the County Dog Warden telling us we were supposed to quarantine Scooter for ten days to check for rabies and since we didn't we're in some sort of violation. Just where were we supposed to keep him for ten days? Who was going to get him out of his crate to let him outside? How could we trust him? Now we're second guessing ourselves again that maybe we put down a dog that might have had something fixable. And his ashes are in today. What an ungodly nightmare. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ShoresDog Posted March 1, 2011 Report Share Posted March 1, 2011 Don't let anyone make you second guess yourself. Scooter didn't have rabies -- his vaccinations were current. It's by far most likely that your vet was correct that the behavior change was due to a brain tumor. You were in an awful situation, and you did the best you could. You and your husband take good care of yourselves now. You have a lot of board people pulling for you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sue R Posted March 1, 2011 Report Share Posted March 1, 2011 Landed in the ER yesterday morning with either a major panic attack or a severe reaction to the antibiotics they had me on (Bactrim DS), or both. Couldn't find anything wrong with me so after five hours they sent me home with some Xanax and told me to take it easy. Today we got a letter from the County Dog Warden telling us we were supposed to quarantine Scooter for ten days to check for rabies and since we didn't we're in some sort of violation. Just where were we supposed to keep him for ten days? Who was going to get him out of his crate to let him outside? How could we trust him? Now we're second guessing ourselves again that maybe we put down a dog that might have had something fixable. And his ashes are in today. What an ungodly nightmare. So sorry that this is beating up on you over and over again! I am surprised that the vet who euthanized Scooter was not aware of the regulations and I would probably not have thought to do anything else if the vet had not suggested it. Fixable? I don't think so, I think you did what you felt was best and safest for all concerned, including Scooter - who was an innocent victim of something apparently beyond yours and his control. I guess the only other thing you might have done is an autopsy, to determine if there was something visible that could account for this attack. Even then, the vet may not have found a reason. God bless you both (and Scooter, too) in dealing with all the grief and issues this has caused. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DebC Posted March 2, 2011 Report Share Posted March 2, 2011 I would hope that showing the warden that Scooter's vaccinations were up to date will take care of any rabies question!! Please try not to second guess your decision. You absolutely made the right choice for the situation you both were in. Scooter is at peace now, and I hope that soon you will also be at peace with your choice. Please take care of yourselves - Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sea4th Posted March 2, 2011 Report Share Posted March 2, 2011 I'm so sorry for what you're going through. You did absolutely the right thing, for you, for Scooter. It was already a terrible situation without the dog warden butting in. Proof of rabies might be all you need. And if that's not sufficient, I'd sure like to know what you were in violation of. It's not as though he had bitten anyone outside of your home. Maybe you're giving too much weight to this sabre-rattling dog warden letter because you are still raw emotionally. I've gone to the ER several times when bitten by a dog, and on 3 occasions had been hospitalized and on IV's. Each time, as I was waiting in the examination room, the dutiful nurse would come in with her clip board and form, to fill out a county dog bite form. Each time I'd tell them it wasn't necessary, because I knew the dog and that it was current on it's shots. One nurse got particularly pushy with me and I told her I'm walking out [rather than give her information]. She checked with the doctor who told her to put it away and I was treated. The fact that you were in the ER for not a dog bite but probably stress-related causes, after which you got a letter from the dog warden, shows that common sense doesn't always prevail --- filling out forms does. Coming up with Scooter's rabies certificate should be sufficient to satisfy these bureaucrats. If so, end of story. If not, it would be interesting to know what the consequences are of this so called "violation". I'm so sorry you've good through this horrible time. The quicker you put it behind you, the better and know that in the greater scheme of things, once emotions have subsided, once bureaucrats have had their red tape cut, that you've done the most important thing of all. You've released Scooter in a loving and kind way from a life where, in spite of all of your kindness and love, he could not possibly have been happy here on earth. And I'm sure Scooter thanks you. Hang in there. It took guts to do what you did from the time that Scooter came into your life to the hour that you released him. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KrisK Posted March 2, 2011 Report Share Posted March 2, 2011 I can't add anymore than what others have said...but know that I'm thinking of you and your husband, sending you lots of healing mojo. {{{{{{hugs}}}}} Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sweet_ceana Posted March 2, 2011 Report Share Posted March 2, 2011 I haven't been online lately and just saw this. Oh my goodness, I am shocked. I am so sorry. What a horrible unimaginable tragedy. DH and I will be thinking about both you and your husband as well as Scooter. I am so sorry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bcnewe2 Posted March 3, 2011 Report Share Posted March 3, 2011 I hope you are healing even with things not letting up as they should. As far as the dog warden. How is the average dog owner, not that your are average but the dog warden doesn't know that.... So wouldn't it have been the responsibility of Scooters vet to know the policies of these types of situations? I sure hope proof of UTD shots will be sufficent. I think about you and your DH daily and pray for a timely healing, mind and body. Hopefully the good memories of Scooter get you through this rough time, I'm sure he would want it that way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Star Posted March 4, 2011 Report Share Posted March 4, 2011 I'm so sorry to hear of your loss of Scooter. What a tragic way to have to say goodbye to a beloved pet. Euthanizing a beloved friend and family member is so very hard. Even when we have lots of time to consider it, it seems we end up second guessing that decision, believing we waited too long or didn't wait long enough. I can tell from all of your posts that the decision was made out of love, so I hope you can find comfort in knowing you were a good steward of Scooter. May your fondest memories of him give you moments of peace during your grief. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ms.DaisyDuke Posted March 4, 2011 Report Share Posted March 4, 2011 Wow. I am terribly sorry for everything you are going through. I can't imagine. We will be sending healing thoughts and prayers to you. Time will sooth the pain. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Liz P Posted March 4, 2011 Report Share Posted March 4, 2011 Laws can vary by state, county and town. I just left an area where the county laws were different than the town laws and vast stretches of land were unincorporated, so in order to decide on a course of action you had to pull out a map, find the exact spot were the incident took place, then call animal control to find out which course of action was required. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyTDogs Posted March 5, 2011 Report Share Posted March 5, 2011 Landed in the ER yesterday morning with either a major panic attack or a severe reaction to the antibiotics they had me on (Bactrim DS), or both. Couldn't find anything wrong with me so after five hours they sent me home with some Xanax and told me to take it easy. Today we got a letter from the County Dog Warden telling us we were supposed to quarantine Scooter for ten days to check for rabies and since we didn't we're in some sort of violation. Just where were we supposed to keep him for ten days? Who was going to get him out of his crate to let him outside? How could we trust him? Now we're second guessing ourselves again that maybe we put down a dog that might have had something fixable. And his ashes are in today. What an ungodly nightmare. I was afraid this might happen. In MD & in FL if an animal bites a person it must be "quarantined" for 10 days to be sure it is not shedding the rabies virus. If it dies or is euthanized within that time frame a rabies test is required. If, at the end of quarantine, the dog is normal then they aren't shedding the virus, so there is no risk of the bitten person contracting rabies. If rabies is suspected (this may be true in Scooter's case because of his abnormal behavior) and a test is not performed on the animal the next recommendation may be to undergo post exposure rabies shots - not pleasant or cheap. Hopefully the proof of current rabies vaccine will be sufficient to avoid all this...but I'm not sure. If there is any chance Scooter had encountered an animal with rabies (bat, skunk, fox, raccoon...) in the 6 months before his death then you should consider the shots, IMO. I suspect your vet was probably shaken up by the events too & perhaps that is why they did not think about the consequences of not doing a rabies test or holding off on euthanasia until the quarantine period was up. Every euthanasia authorization form I've ever seen has a statement that the signer attests that the animal has not bitten a person within the past 10 days. I am really sorry to read all this is happening to you. It is just not fair. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bc4ever Posted March 5, 2011 Author Report Share Posted March 5, 2011 I was afraid this might happen. In MD & in FL if an animal bites a person it must be "quarantined" for 10 days to be sure it is not shedding the rabies virus. If it dies or is euthanized within that time frame a rabies test is required. If, at the end of quarantine, the dog is normal then they aren't shedding the virus, so there is no risk of the bitten person contracting rabies. If rabies is suspected (this may be true in Scooter's case because of his abnormal behavior) and a test is not performed on the animal the next recommendation may be to undergo post exposure rabies shots - not pleasant or cheap. Hopefully the proof of current rabies vaccine will be sufficient to avoid all this...but I'm not sure. If there is any chance Scooter had encountered an animal with rabies (bat, skunk, fox, raccoon...) in the 6 months before his death then you should consider the shots, IMO. I suspect your vet was probably shaken up by the events too & perhaps that is why they did not think about the consequences of not doing a rabies test or holding off on euthanasia until the quarantine period was up. Every euthanasia authorization form I've ever seen has a statement that the signer attests that the animal has not bitten a person within the past 10 days. I am really sorry to read all this is happening to you. It is just not fair. The vet sent his head away to be analyzed and we received a letter from the Ohio Department of Health Wood County that the rabies test was negative. It looks like it was performed on the 22nd, 3 days after Scooter was euthanized. It came the same day that we got the letter telling us we were supposed to quarantine him for ten days. Praying to God this was all that needed to be done, and that it was done correctly. I can't handle any more stress. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
WildFlower Posted March 5, 2011 Report Share Posted March 5, 2011 Oh my Pam, I am so sorry that you have had to go through all this additional heartache. I am still sending my thoughts to you and your husband. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Carlasl Posted March 7, 2011 Report Share Posted March 7, 2011 The vet sent his head away to be analyzed and we received a letter from the Ohio Department of Health Wood County that the rabies test was negative. It looks like it was performed on the 22nd, 3 days after Scooter was euthanized. It came the same day that we got the letter telling us we were supposed to quarantine him for ten days. Praying to God this was all that needed to be done, and that it was done correctly. I can't handle any more stress. I am a Animal Control Officer and what you did is absolutely within the law here and I cannot imagine why it wouldn't be within the law anywhere, the point of the 10 day quarantine is to see if the animal has rabies, the other option is euthanasia and sending the head out for testing. I am assuming that the County didn't know you sent his head out for testing or somehow it got miscommunicated. In any case the test results should be all you need to clear that up. You and your husband are in my thoughts frequently I can only imagine how hard this must be, physically and emotionally, I had a fairly traumatic (near death with emergency surgery) experience last year around this time and I had a lot of trouble sleeping for a while and now that I am at the anniversary a lot of that is brought back...all we can do is take one day at a time when we go through the rough patches in life, having some helping figuring it all out is always a good idea. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bn_here_b4 Posted March 7, 2011 Report Share Posted March 7, 2011 I am at a loss for words. This must be such a hard time for you and your husband. You are in my prayers that your heart will heal and your pain will recede. Scooter gave you so much happiness and those will be the memories that stay with you. Your reaction to the trauma of your experience is normal. I was snake bitten about 3 years ago. For the first few weeks I couldn't sleep without medication. I would wake up several times every night compelled to search my bedroom for snakes even though my sensible self knew nothing could be there and the bite happened outdoors. I can't imagine how much harder this must be for you. Take care Cherrie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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