While I was searching for Moolah the other day, Charlie Dog had a nasty run in with some yellow jackets. The following is an excerpt from my log entry:

While I was hunting on the hillside, I noticed Charlie Dog laying down on the road. He seemed to be snapping at something on his back. I thought maybe he got into some ants, so I called him to me. When he got to me, I saw that he had yellow jackets all over his back. I immediately started brushing them off with my hiking stick. Then we ran down the trail a bit and I brushed a few more off until they were all gone. I inspected him closely and noticed several welts where he had been stung. I could tell he was obviously hurting from the way he was acting. I watched him for about 10 minutes and he seemed to be doing fine, so I put him the car and continued the hunt. About 20 minutes pass and I go check on Charlie. This is when I freak out. His entire face is swollen and he has welts all over his body. One of his eyes is almost closed shut and his jowls feel tight to the touch. Well, I jumped in the car and head down the mountain as fast as I can which is only about 2MPH. I had him ride in the front seat with me so I could monitor his breathing. I was so scared he might go into anaphylactic shock and stop breathing. It took about an hour to get to our vet in Woodstock, but we made without any problems. The vet gave Charlie a couple of shots and some benadryl pills for me to give him. The next day Charlie was back to his old self. The vet bill was $90. If I EVER find Moolah, I sure hope there's some money left. I'll need it!

Thus ends other tale in the on-going Moolah saga.

Pics of Charlie after the Yellow Jacket attack:
http://img.groundspeak.com/cache/log/4e3d7bef-56b4-4501-a47a-7af926c8ec51.jpg
http://img.groundspeak.com/cache/log/5325f703-9e74-498c-9e0e-c70a91873242.jpg

I will now be carrying Benadryl along with me on my cache hunts.

UNREAL! I do have a question. Did the doctor give him something like a half a tablet or something? I took two pills once and it just about knocked me out. I have never thought about carrying them on the trail but I will now.

When J.C. was a puppy we had given him bones and he would keep them in the back yard and naw on them. One day we came home and his mouth was all swollen up. I found the bone covered with ants! I have not given him one since.

Sorry to hear about Charlie.

But you might want ask Johnnie about the Starhopping hornets and how much they cost him.

Mtn-man,
Here's what Charlie got at the vet:

Injection of Benadryl
Injection of Dexamethasone (steroid)
Pills - Diphenhydramine 50mg.

The lab assistant said the pills were pretty much the same as benadryl pills that people take, except they were double dose. Charlie was pretty lethargic after the shots & pills, but he was pretty much back to normal by the next day.

Later!

Poor little guy. He was just minding his business when BAM!

quote:

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Injection of Dexamethasone (steroid)

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Please keep an eye on how often that stuff is administered. I had a cat go into kidney failure because of the over administration of steroids. She had allergies and the steroids kept the swelling down. If possible, avoid them.

Oh, I switched vets.

See ya on the hunt!

I just hate it with my animals are hurt or sick.

I had a Boxer that used to enjoy eating Yellow Jackets for that tingling sensation they gave him.
So maybe they have learned at Boxer's pose a threat?

My australian cattle dog "Dingo" is about 36 pounds give or take a good dinner and he is allergic to flea bites....just tears his skin up, so the vet said he could take Benadryl. It doesn't make him sleepy and it's way less expensive than the Rx allergy meds that he was taking.

I never thought to include benadryl in a first aide kit...but considering how allergic my whole family tends to be should we EVEN be surprised to have an allergy dog, too?), I think I'll pop some in there...can't hurt.

Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you react to it.

I sure am glad the Charlie Dog is OK. From the looks of the picture he really had a bad day. Here is a link for what you can give dog for a first aid kit.
First Aid Kit and what you can give a dog.

Years ago When I lived in Florida, I had a Dog named Murphy (who actually became the first Drug Dog for the State of Kansas Highway Patrol). She was bitten in the face by a Pygmy Rattler. I actually could see the swelling occur and I had a friend drive us to the animal emergency clinic. All they gave her was a shot of benendryl and the swelling came down. From that day on I always have benedryl in the medicine cabinet and It is always in my pack when I hike. If D-A-P is bitten by snake or bug(wasp, bee, hornet, ants...) I give it to her and then take her to the vet. (only happened once so far). It kept my vet bill down to $26.00 for the examination.

Always check with your vet first before giving your pet anything to make sure it's ok.

Great link Hikinit.

Hubby & I attempted Stone Mountain Fishing Cache last Sunday (11/23/03). DO NOT ATTEMPT THIS as we were both stung numerous times by yellow jackets.

We suggested (in the log) that the owner disable this cache. The yellow jackets nest is within 10 feet of the cache.