OT - Spirit (my puppy) is injured!

Let me start by saying my dogs are my kids.  We have 2 black labs.  Our youngest, Spirit - 11 months old, is in her chewing phase.  OK, she's been in a chewing phase since we got her, but usually she just chews on her own stuff.   Yesterday we were hanging around outside with our neighbors and their kids and dogs.  We were having a great time and it was such a beautiful day!  Anyway, one of the kid's toys needed a new battery.  After replacing it, my neighbor set it down next to her (who would think that would be a problem?)  Suddenly Spirit is running around trying to get something out of her mouth.  One of the neighbors said she had punctured the battery.  She spit it out right away, but the acid was all over her mouth.  We immediately sprayed her mouth with the hose, to try to flush away the acid.  One neighbor mentioned baking soda to help the burning, so we pulled her mouth open and poured baking soda all over it.  Then Ryan looked up online and found that milk would be a good base, and would also be a bit soothing.  She loved that!  Poor Spirit.  She was obviously hurting yesterday and didn't want to play too much.  We gave her benadryl to combat any swelling, and kept a close eye on her.  This morning I took her into the vet right away.  They gave her a good examination.  Her gums are pretty torn up, but her tounge was burned the worst.  :(  $140 later, we came home with a GI med, 2 pain meds and an antibiotic.   Dr. Jenny said it would get worse before it got better.  She should recover just fine though.   Thank God she didn't actually swallow the battery, and she'll be fine.  I bet she learned a lesson, that's for sure!  Now she's all cuddly and passed out from all the medication.  Frankly, that's probably the best thing for her.   Thanks for "listening"!  I just had to share with somebody! 

I am sorry that happened, but I am glad Spirit is doing better.  That is scary.  It is amazing how much puppies can be like children.  You almost have to child-proof your house to keep them out of trouble.  Take good care of her. 

I've always said that dogs are good training for kids.  :)  You're right, you do have to puppy-proof your home.  But just like kids, you never know what can happen!  :)

OMG DEb I would be freaking out if that happend to one of my babies too. Sounds lkie you did the right things by helping her. BTW what a beutiful name "Spirit". Thanks for sharing because it may help other dog owners out there. Hugs to you and Spirit.                                                             Annie

Isn't "Spirit" a cute name?  My husband came up with it.  All of our dogs have had "S" names which are also nicknames of airplanes (Ryan's in the Air Force.)  We've had Spooky, Shadow and Spirit.  They all really grew into each individual name too.  It's funny.  Spirit, truly is a sweet, loving dog...the name fits!  :)   Thanks for the hugs!

Oh, How terrible, but she is going to be OK ,that is good!.... yes, they are like our children, we hurt when they hurt!

Ouch!  What a freaky thing to happen.  I'm so glad Spirit is better and for you, that the bill was only $140!  That's a dang good vet bill, if there is such a thing.

Keep us posted...

I was a little shocked that the bill was only $140 too!  The savior in the price was that we knew she didn't swallow the battery itself, so they didn't need to do an X-Ray.   So far so good tonight.  She's eating and drinking water again...I think the pain meds are helping.

Wow Deb.. I am so sorry.  (But glad to hear that she will be fine!!!)   My ****er Spaniel ate a whole bag of chocolate once.. (Well my daughter was 2 and she fed it to him..)  I had to give him peroxide and let him puke the chocolate up.  I know how terrified you must have been!!!

Yeah, that stuff is scary!  My other dog Shadow (who never takes anything off tables) stole and ate up a pill sorter from my counter that had a week's worth of pills in it.  Of course, these things never happen in the middle of the week when the vet is actually open.  Did you know there is a phone # for Animal Poison Control?  But, unlike the one for kids, they charge...I think it's $60, but it's worth it when us and the emergency vet needed to know how each med would affect the dog.  She turned out to be fine without any intervention.  Yes, we've had our share of doggy drama!