a seasonal pnw psa

if you live in the PNW, it’s likely that you’ve heard of foxtail grass. they have pointy, barbed seeds that are known to burrow into whatever they come into contact with. when I first brought my pup home, I was warned about them, shown pictures of blown-up snouts and post-surgery pups. my husband and I have always tried to be careful, avoiding the foxtails or pulling our dog away when she tries to sniff them.

the foxtail in question. amazing the damage these little things can do.

we think it happened on a potty walk. she loves to crouch into awkward positions and corners. but in reality, we’re not sure how it happened.

at first, we thought it was a hotspot. she’s gotten them on her stomach before. she started licking her paw a lot, and we noticed the hair between her toes was gone and it was red and irritated, so we did what we usually do for hotspots: sprayed it with Vetericyn and watched her to keep from licking.

after the initial vet visit, chilling in her new cone of shame.

it was our first time ever needing a visit to the “doggy ER”. when we arrived shortly after 1 a.m. it was quieter than we expected. we were greeted at the door and immediately shown to our own triage area, where we were told to wait for a vet assistant to check us in.

waiting to be seen at the ER.

then the vet came and examined the paw and told us that they believed it was most likely the foxtail our regular vet was suspicious of. they showed us how the swelling in the paw looked like it was swollen around something, and the area that had swelled up matched with a potential entry wound between the toes.

the angel wrapped our pup’s paw to keep the bloody footprints already littering our apartment floor at bay, and they sent us home.

after three and a half hours of sleep, we reported back to our regular vet. we kissed our pup “see you later,” and they took her to the back. we went home, drank lots of coffee, ran errands at the pharmacy, and aimlessly wandered the aisles of Trader Joe’s while we waited to hear any news.

then the phone call came. our vet calling to confirm that it was indeed a foxtail. it had imbedded itself nearly two inches into our dog’s paw, narrowly missing any important structures.

they had gotten it just in time.

we breathed a sigh of relief. the dark cloud of something more “sinister” still hovering over our heads evaporated.

a few hours later, we picked up our girl. she was still loopy from coming off the anesthesia, but she was herself again.

one week post-surgery

then she stepped on one.

after a day or two of licking it.

then her paw swelled up, and we made an appointment with her regular vet (she was also in need of some vaccines, so it was time for an appointment anyway). after dropping her off, the vet tech called us almost immediately, asking for permission to take a culture of her paw to rule out anything “sinister”. just like that, every worst-case scenario ran through our heads. we’re not ready for anything sinister; our pup is only six. she’s our baby.

a couple of hours later, the vet herself called. she had suspicions of a foxtail but wanted to schedule a dental (where they put the dog under anesthesia to clean their teeth) so she could simultaneously explore our dog’s paw to find the source of the swelling. we picked her up with the procedure scheduled for the next day.

that night, the blood blister that had started forming between her toes burst. I did my best to clean it up and stop the bleeding myself, but because of the swelling and no confirmed diagnosis, my husband and I decided to rush our pup to the emergency vet.

after being shaved and cleaned up at the ER.

the woman who came to help us was a true angel. she calmed our pup and loved on her to try and lower her obvious stress levels. then she took our information and disappeared for a minute, returning with a razor and other supplies.

she handled our pup so gently. she shaved her paw, exposing the wound, and cleaned it up with such ease that our girl just sat there happily letting it happen.

post surgery in the soft sided “nighttime cone” we bought. the swelling in her paw went down instantly.

by the next day, she was fully alert and fully herself. we kept her in a cone to keep her from licking and watched how miraculously fast her paw healed. the vet made it seem like it would be days of leaking and oozing, but by day two or three the wound was already closing up nicely.

we still had to keep her on bed rest, only taking her out to go potty on the grass patch right outside our building. but as far as our pup was concerned, she was healed. she wanted to play, she wanted to venture further from the apartment, she wanted to get back to her life.

it’s been a week now and we are finally out of the haze that was the foxtail experience. we can start taking her on shorter walks and next week we return to the vet for a full checkup on our pup’s recovery. but luckily, we can already tell that her paw has been healing quite nicely.

so if you’re a dog owner (especially one with sand-colored fur like our golden) take this as your sign to be extra careful this season—and every season—of the foxtails in your neighborhood. check those paws when you come home from walks! even if you are as diligent as my husband and I are, this too could happen to your pup!

much love,

Raine