A Family Emergency on the Road

I have been trying to figure out how to put so many emotions into words.

Please bear with me, as I tell you a tale of how we almost lost our 8-month-old puppy to a toxic chemical.

I woke up to a day that seemed much like the others before it.

I got up, started coffee, and went to get the pups so I could take them out to potty.

There were white bits of plastic in their kennel, that kind of concerned me, but our puppy Marley would chew up anything and everything.

It did not help that our 1-year old son, Declan, liked to stick his toys through the bars of the kennel.

It was not until later that I noticed Chance’s flea collar was missing from around his neck.

Marely had an upset tummy, but nothing worrisome, so we decided to keep a close eye on her. We knew she more than likely was responsible for chewing off Chances flea collar, but we did not know the seriousness of the issue at this point.

I was working on getting a soap order ready for mailing, when Kenneth mentioned he thought Marley had hurt her paw.

She seemed to be limping and stumbling about.

Within minutes it was clear that her paw was not the issue, Marley was unable to stand up and walk without falling over.

We knew we needed to act fast.

I called an animal hospital, told them our situation, and they urged us to bring Marley in immediately.

At this point, I was concerned, but not overly concerned. She just seemed almost drunk.

We immediately got in the vehicle with Marley and began the 20-minute drive to Smith’s Animal Hospital.

10 minutes into the drive and Marley began vomiting.

I could see pieces of the flea collar in her vomit, and I prayed she was getting all of the toxins out of her system.

I kept petting her, keeping her calm, while urging Kenneth to drive faster.

Within 5 minutes of vomiting, Marley began to have a seizure. It did not last but 10-15 seconds. However, it was not the only one our young pup experienced on the way to the hospital.

At this point, it felt like the longest car ride in my life.

I was not sure if she would survive until we made it to the hospital. All I could do is watch the time go down on the GPS and pray.

Kenneth was driving as fast as was safe to do so.

When we arrived the vet team was waiting.

They met me at the doors and rushed Marley to the back.

Due to the Coronavirus outbreak, I was not allowed to enter the vehicle and we had to wait outside for information.

Several phone calls between the vet and us occurred over the next 10 minutes, as they contacted poison control and I researched the flea collar.

Poison control was unsure of what medications were contained in the collar and could not tell the vet team the best treatment options.

The collar was Seresto by Bayer.

I found the collar.

I found the active ingredients.

I called to inform the Veterinarian what I found. I could tell from the vet’s voice, the concern she had, once I informed her of the active ingredients contained in the collar.

The vet began xrays to determine how much of the collar Marley consumed, medication to make her vomit any remaining pieces in her stomach, an IV line to infuse her with fluids, and activated charcoal to try and absorb the toxins.

Then, we had to wait.

Marley spent the night at the animal hospital, where she experienced more seizures.

Except, this time, Marley was unable to come out of the seizures on her own. The vet team was having to administer medication to stop her seizures.

Marley was unable to come home the next day, due to the severity of her seizures.

Poison control and the vet were puzzled.

The toxins should be leaving Marley’s system, but instead, she was getting sicker.

They began a barium study, to find any remaining collar fragments, and enemas to encourage her to pass any that was in her system.

Then, we had to wait again.

After two nights in the hospital, the vet woke me up at 8 am with the best news.

Marley had no more seizures overnight.

The toxins were finally out of her system.

She was going to be ok.

Marley was coming home.

Whenever we think of New Mexico, we will remember the 3 fear filled days, when we did not know if our puppy would live or die.

We will always be thankful that we were able to move on to our next location with our family intact.