6 week old Great Dane Survives Stereo
If your 6 week old Great Dane puppy has a stereo dropped on his head, come to the emergency room right away!
I walked into the exam room at 5:15 p.m. We opened at 5 p.m. Reggie was on the exam table in a blanket, having a grand mal seizure, head thrown back, frothing, legs twitching. I scooped him up, placed an intravenous catheter and gave him valium to calm his seizure. I tucked him in a baby incubator to stay warm and comfortable while I talked with his mom.
She told me that somebody at her house had dropped a stereo on his head at 2 p.m. and they wanted to wait until she got home from work to take him to the vet’s. I told her about treatment, how the first 24 hours would tell if he had a concussion, or would pull out of it, and how much it would cost. (So far, I’m disappointed that the puppy wasn’t brought right in, but I figured, she had been at work, it wasn’t her fault. She was trying to fix the problem.) The puppy’s mom told me she would have to call a few friends about getting payment for the treatment. Okay, I left her alone to call.
Next thing I hear the door open and a car peel away, and no puppy in the incubator! She lied to me, and took the puppy! He was sure to have more seizures. I had a tough decision to make. I called county Animal Control Services. The officer on duty was 10 minutes from the end of his shift. He took his own time to drive to the puppy’s house. He found three adults high on drugs and several toddlers, and no puppy.
“Where’s the puppy?”
“My brother-in-law took him to the woods.”
“You tell him to go get him right now, or I’m taking you all in for animal abuse.” (He couldn’t really do that, but they were not in their right minds, so they believed him.)
It took the guy an hour to go out in the woods where he had left the puppy to “die naturally” and bring him back to the house. The officer rushed him to the e.r., where we treated his seizures all night long. The next morning, the seizures stopped, he ate breakfast, and never had another episode. A local police officer adopted him, and he lived happily ever after!
P.S. That animal control officer saved many animals’ lives. The Great Dane puppy was one lucky pup. The officer called child services and they check on the family from time to time to make sure the kids are all okay.
P.P.S. In that county, if you couldn’t pay for vet care you could sign your pet over to the county, and they would take care of your pet and adopt it out to a family that could care for it. She never indicated that she needed help, and ran out before I could let her know that the puppy didn’t have to suffer because of lack of money.
Seven Years and Going Strong!
