Wednesday 18 November 2009

A scary night....

Pigma Micron pen, graphite and markers in A5 sketchbook
Click on image to enlarge

After the unbearably hot day yesterday, we did end up getting a storm that hung around for nearly 3½ hours. Luckily for us, we didn't get the worst of it but poor Cody panted with anxiety for all that time. He seemed to settle after the storm moved on but, about an hour later, he let me know he wanted outside. However his behaviour was anything but normal.

He raced outside, pushed his face into the wet grass, raced back inside, and began frantically trying to rub himself all over the tiled floor. I picked him up and noticed his face was red and very hot under his furry coat and his nose felt dry and very hot too. He was extremely restless and panting again. The heat radiating from his body had me quite concerned so I took his temperature and it was 104.6°F! I immediately googled it and was quite frightened to read that this temperature meant a high fever and was quite dangerous in dogs. The normal temperature range for dogs is between 101°F to 102°F. All Cody's symptoms pointed towards heat-stroke, which made sense, given the terrible heat of the day and his continual panting for 3½ hours. He had become severely dehydrated though there had been no obvious sign until he started behaving erratically.

Cody's body was a mass of angry red splotches which were also very hot to the touch. He refused to drink water and even turned his nose up at ice-cubes. I was worried sick! It was midnight so I wet a towel and wrapped him in it making sure that I was continually moving the towel around so that his arm-pits and face were being soothed with fresh coolness. After 15 minutes, his temperature had dropped to 103.3°F which was a good sign so we (Brad & I) repeated the wet towel treatment for a while and eventually managed to get it down to 101°F. I was so relieved but I can tell you that I had very little sleep after that ordeal. I kept waking every half hour to make sure he wasn't over-heating again.

Now that I know Cody can be effected in this way, I will be keeping a very close eye on him during our hot, humid summer days, particularly when they are followed by a storm. He is doing much better today though a little worn out from the ordeal.

I was very grateful to be able to 'google' help which was invaluable to me in this particular instance.

On a positive note, Michelle came over today and we did a little more re-organising. My new studio area is pretty much set up apart from a couple of cosmetic details. I hope to share some pics with you tomorrow.

Love, light and peace

15 comments:

  1. Great post Mum!

    I have to admit I was scared when you said something was wrong with Cody. I'm just so happy that he is much better now and I hope we never have to go through that again.

    Love Brad!
    xoxox

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  2. Well that would be scary. Glad he is doing better and hope he gets fully recovered soon. I forget you have heat when we have cold.

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  3. Aww... poor little Cody! Yes, that extreme stress from storm phobias can be wreck havoc on their bodies.
    That's why we now medicate Isabella- she'd pant and drool so bad, all the while trembing so bad she couldn't even sit upright. Even with the xanax, she's still uneasy but it really helps. I wonder what goes through their minds during the storms? Poor dears.

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  4. Wow! That is scarry. Glad he's doing better now though!

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  5. OMG! That had to be so awful! Poor Cody! Doesn't it make you overwhelmingly grateful for the Internet. You never know what you can find out when you need information quickly. Oh poor Cody! I can see why you didn't get much sleep. I would be worried sick if it was Miss Karma. I am sooo glad that Cody is better and hope that never happens again. I'm sure if there's heat and a storm you'll be ready with a wet towel next time. Give Cody a hug from me. :):)

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  6. Poor Cody! I could even tell the next day that it had taken a lot out of him. He just wasn't his usual self. I am so glad you were able to bring his temp down and that he is doing much better now.

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  7. Oh gosh I was scared reading your hand written detail with your sketch...so glad we can turn to a search engine and find the info we need at times like this! You did great in a scary emergency. Glad Cody is doing OK now...thank God.

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  8. Wow, I've never known any of my dogs to ever have a fever. I'm glad you had Google to turn to, also. So much (life saving) information at our fingertips.

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  9. perfect nursing technique! Our little brother almost died from sunstroke when we were kids. The story goes that a quick thinking nurse from next door raced over to take him out of my frantic Mom's arms when she noticed her carrying him ...unconscious, on a blistering day .. .. .. and yelled at her to pour a cold bath for him... they plunged him into it and he shuddered and woke up...seemingly alright.... thank goodness for nurses....

    glad little Cody is fine now.....

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  10. Oh so glad that you were able to deal with it so quickly. I am glad that Cody is feeling better. Yes pets do heat up very quickly. When summer season comes here the RSPCA keep warning pet owners to beware of the heat affecting the pets.

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  11. Oh wow, that is scary!
    Yay for you for noticing the signs. I always thought that if a dog was overheated or dehydrating, he would just drink water. Apparently not so.

    Good to know. So glad you were able to gain some control over the situation.

    missed ya!
    :)

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  12. I missed this post Serena! How scary but glad Cody is doing better!

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  13. Oh, poor little Cody! I know how the heat bothers me and I don't wear a fur coat all the time!

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  14. oh poor cody :( i am really glad you managed to get his temps down!

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  15. OMG Serena how terrifying! I would have been a wreck. Poor Cody, I am relieved to hear he is ok.

    HUGS to both of you!

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