Worst day ever: Dog attack Bella stopped eating.

[rockdoveranch]

Went out to check again, She's eaten very little and when I sat out there with her, she tried to crawl in my lap. She just wanted me to give her loves. her demeanor is drastically changing and I'm really worried.

Don't give up. At the beginning of the year my yearling buck was seriously ill and spent a few days on my bathroom floor, buck stink be darned. He alternated between just wanting to be in my lap and not being able to lift his head off the floor until I was convinced he was a goner. My vet didn't think he was going to live. Rx antibiotics and some committed supportive care (and the help of goat friends via texts in the middle of the night!) saved him.

If she goes off her feed altogether it is going to be extremely important to keep some kind of fiber in her to keep her rumen from shutting down. I drenched our buck with a soaked alfalfa pellet slurry to keep something in there. It was a major pain because at that point he simply did not want to eat, but it worked.

If you don't already have C&D Antitoxin order it NOW just in case. Rumenal stasis sets them up for entero and you have to be ready to treat it fast. I'd put Bloat Release on the order as well if it's not already in your medicine cabinet. A bag of fluids from the vet are also a good thing to have on hand in case of emergency and SQ fluids are very easy to administer.

As long as she's still eating her hay, even if it's not much, you probably won't need to worry about that. I really hope for you that it doesn't come to that, but being ready to get her through a rough patch with good supportive care while she fights the infection could save her. Best wishes for you and your doe!

n.smithurmond,

We keep Pedialyte and Karo Syrup on hand in the event of an emergency here with our lambs or ewes. Would these things helpful to Bella?

 

[SDGsoap&dairy]

I use Bounceback as an electrolyte supplement, but if they're to the point where they're not eating then I go right to SQ fluids in addition to offering water with Bounceback. The only cause I've had for Karo or Molasses is for the does post-kidding, so I don't know about that.

 

[Holachicka]

Good news! Bella started acting herself again last night, she eventually did finish her food, and when I went out to give her the second daily antibiotic shot, she really tried to avoid it, going circles around me in the pen. She was previously just letting me do whatever so I take this as a very good sign. I fed her today before the shots and she was again eating like her normal piggy self!

I'm starting to suspect that the new pain meds make her pretty dopey and that was the reason for the drastic changes in her yesterday. She seems to be feeling much better without the pain meds so I'll talk to the vet tomorrow before I give it to her.

My other concern is that the vitamin B just gave her a boost and she's really not doing all that well.

There is still the huge concern about her muscle tissue dying and needing more surgery, as well as the many other things that can go wrong. BUT so far she is holding her own. Thanks again for all the support and advice.

 

[elevan]

Glad she's feeling a little better!

 

[rockdoveranch]

Yeah! I am so happy after reading your post!

 

[carolinagirl]

That is excellent news. I am pulling for her to make a full recovery!

 

[SDGsoap&dairy]

 

[Holachicka]

Well, we had a thunderstorm today, and the other goats had pulled the roof panels off of Bella's temporary pen, So I went out to recover her. The combination of the storm and me lifting the panels spooked her and she fell on her neck. She rolled onto her back and started this awful screaming and could not get up. I went in there with her and helped her up, and she was shaking and stumbling around. Her neck was twisted to an even sharper angle. I kept an eye on her and she fell down a couple more times before she was steady again.

I feel so awful. I'm really afraid that the fall may have broken an already unstable fracture. DH and I are talking about having her put down, because if she needs more surgury, there is still very large chance that she will not recover. She is still eating but loosing weight very quickly, and I'm really hesitant to put her through any more pain and trama if she is not going to survive. I hate taking her to the vet because it is so frightening and traumatic for her, as well as painful because of the windy roads we have to drive for 45 min to get he to the vet.

I'm really torn and feeling pretty down today. This is an emotional rollercoaster.

 

[elevan]

It pains me to hear that the beautiful Bella has aggravated her injury

It's such a difficult decision to make, I know. You have to do what you feel is right. I pray for strength for you and peace for your beautiful Bella in whatever decision that you make.

 

[rockdoveranch]

Hola,

Your last post is so sad.

Making the decision whether to euthanize or not is so very difficult. We have to consider pain and suffering, quality of life, and our own personal beliefs.

In my opinion, poor little Bella must be in horrible, horrible pain (and fear) to allow you to see it. Most animals will not show pain as concealing pain is a survival instinct.

1 1/2 years ago I had to decide whether to euthanize my Boxer dog. It was HORRIBLE. He suddenly became ill and could not urinate. An xray showed a large kidney stone trapped in his urethra. Surgery was not guaranteed to be successful, and even had it been, my poor dog would have lead a very poor quality of life. After an hour I decided to have him euthanized. I put a blanket on the vet's floor, sat down and cradled my dog while he was put to sleep. We brought him home and buried him.

Although I have gone through this many times in my life time, I became very depressed and second guessed myself until we traveled to Texas A & M to have a necropsy done on a mature ram. The vet at the medical school was kind enough to listen to my story about my Boxer and told me I did the right thing.

To help you with your decision, you might want to talk it over with your vet.

Sending good energy your way.