Monday, April 16, 2012

Mocha's Anal Sac Ruptured

Saturday evening I noticed Mocha, my 10 year old chihuahua, was straining to go poo but eventually she went. Although it was soft, there was no blood or anything else noticeable in it to cause alarm.  About an hour later she went poo again - straining first but eventually going.  Before bed I decided to check her bum to make sure there was no poo dripping stuck to her butt and that's when I noticed how dark her behind was and there was an overwhelming smell of blood.  I soaked up the blood with several paper towels while quietly freaking out. What could it be?  She was in good spirits, she ate well, her poo was basically fine, she didn't seem to mind me cleaning up her backside either.  I couldn't see where the blood was coming from and she continued to bleed.  I Googled symptoms and after awhile, from the information that I found, I suspected it either had to be a hemrrhoid or that a sac ruptured. I made her comfortable and ready for bed. I put a towel under her on my bed, a place she's slept for all of her life, and we slept. 

Next morning, I woke up, let her got to the bathroom. She didn't strain this time and the poo was normal. I took a sample and brought it with me as a walk-in to my vet. Surprisingly, we didn't have to wait long to see the vet. The vet asked me some questions, examined her, cleaned her bum and saw that the abscessed ruptured. I had no idea her sac was a problem because I didn't see her scoot. She's got a chunky butt, so I just didn't notice and she didn't act strange. Anyway, after he cleaned her up I did see the open wound. I left her at the vet for 3 hours while they ran her bloodwork (she had one due on the plan and I opted to check her T4 too since she is chunky - but she has lost a pound in a few months on weight mgmt food!).  He also was going to clean out the sac, etc. When I collected her a few hours later, I was sent home with the following items: Resortin skin ointment (to put on and inside the opening), Rimadyl (for pain), Zeniquin (antibiotic), and Chlorhexidine Flush bottle & syringes (inserting the syringe filled with Chlorhexidine and water into the opening, flushing out everything 3x a day).  Mocha reacts so violently when I flush and I could barely insert 3/4 of the solution in the syringe into the opening. I bribe her with food, have someone hold her, give her breaks in between and she still squirms, pants and gets so upset! How can I keep this up for 9 more days?!

I bought diapers so she can sleep in my bed without leaking.  :)

I tried to take pictures tonight but my camera battery is dead - of course.  Maybe tomorrow.

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