Note: checked out my July 2016 update on Ace here.
How’s that for a title?
My lab mix Ace has had a medical problem for the last 3.5 months.
It is a “puncture” type wound under his tail that just will not heal.
The wound in some cases drains a clear liquid as well as has a “drain tract” that leads all the way above the tail as well as into the best side of his lower back area.
The wound is near the anal gland area, however the gland is not affected.
We have tried lots of things.
We tried several rounds of different antibiotics over two months. We tried waiting. We tried surgery (more on that below).
Our vet does not understand why this wound & draining won’t go away.
It’s frustrating, expensive and – since of the area affected – it’s a little embarrassing and gross. (I’m not going to publish any type of pictures of the actual wound, however if any individual wants to see I will email a picture.) Above all, I’m concerned about my dog.
I have held back on sharing this info since for so long we have not had answers as well as still don’t.
The vet originally suspected a foxtail had somehow traveled up into Ace’s butt/back, as well as Ace had surgery Dec. 7 to remove it. The vet never discovered a foxtail however removed what he descried as a great deal of scar tissue equaling the size of a “small lemon” along this distinct “drain tract.”
We assumed whatever foxtail or “foreign body” was stuck in there would’ve likely been pulled out, hidden in all that scar tissue.
We thought that would be the end of it.
But now, right here we are five weeks later. My dog’s incision has healed nicely. He has recovered from the surgery. as well as yet, this “puncture” that went away briefly came back as well as won’t go away.
I’m sharing this info to let others understand they are not alone.
I question any individual is handling this precise issue, however I do know MANY dog owners are handling medical issues (often very costly ones) without answers.
This is frustrating, stressful as well as in some cases we need to make tough decisions.
I am thankful Ace’s problem does not seem to be life threatening (yet) that we understand of anyway, however he is quite exhausted all the time.
He enjoys attention, massage, cuddles, riding in the car and visiting fun places (like Petco or various parks) so that is what I try to do.
We walk about a half-mile per day slowly as well as he sniffs whatever so it takes us a great half-hour to go that distance as well as it truly tests my patience.
I don’t understand if his lower energy is related to him being an nearly 10-year-old pet dog (and always quite lazy anyway) vs. what might be related to this drain tract.
What we’re doing now
We are currently making decisions about whether to step ahead with an ultrasound or other type of imaging to discover out if there is still something stuck in there or if there is maybe a strange-acting tumor or a lesion of some sort.
We are likewise hoping it will just randomly go away.
For now, we are taking the next two weeks to just re-group, as well as to wait as well as see if anything changes. in some cases we think Ace is looking better. in some cases it’s difficult to tell.
Because my pet dog has likewise had so lots of symptoms of allergies over the last six months – continuous hot spots, continuous itchy eyes as well as skin, ear infections – we just want to take a step back as well as make some adjustments to his środowisko. We’ve gotten him a new bed as well as changed his food.
Maybe this issue will lastly just go away, although our vet doesn’t think so.
Costly vet care
I’m thankful we’ve been able to “afford” the treatments so far by mainly care Credit. We do not have pet insurance coverage as well as there are limits on what I can realistically spend. I will go into some amount of financial obligation for my dog, however there are limits.
If I knew $5,000 would save or repair my dog, I’d most likely spend it. however it becomes very tough over time to keep spending $700 here, $500 there without making any type of genuine development or getting any answers. It’s harder to spend the money when I don’t understand if it will even help.
I’ve been lucky my dog’s problem is not necessarily “urgent” or life threatening so we’ve been able to take our time with our decisions. however truly we don’t truly understand what’s going on.
For now, Ace is OK. I’m thankful for that. There are much worse things we might be going through.
In reality, my pet dog is nearing the end of his life, however I’M Mam nadzieję, że mamy jeszcze kilka lat razem.
Docenimy każdą minutę.
Przytul swoje psy i koty.
-Lindsay & Ace
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