29/09/2025
What a crazy freak accident.
On the Wednesday AM Hike, Willa took off after a scent, I'm guessing a rabbit because she didn't go very far or fast according to her GPS.
Took her about 5 mins to come back after I heard her yelp and she was clearly in distress. She was turning her head to the side, trying to vomit but couldn't and she didn't want to walk, just sit down. Eventually she was able to vomit a few times but only thick white bile.
Initially I thought maybe she overdid it or even had bloat, where her stomach might have flipped or twisted on itself, so I rushed her to emergency on the advice of my regular veterinary office.
They determined there was a stick lodged into her esophagus and she had to be sedated to have it removed. The rest of the day and Thursday she wouldn't eat or drink, she couldn't take her medications and she was very unwell. So we ended up back in the emergency for the day on Friday where she had x-rays and IV fluids and medication to stabilize and rehydrate her.
The veterinarian couldn't determine if there was any more debris in her esophagus but there was an area of concern in the back of her throat. Sent the x-rays off to a radiologist for a more detailed review and they determined it's likely just gas and trauma to her esophagus and there was nothing else noticeable in her stomach, throat, intestines and her lungs were clear of possible aspiration.
Over the weekend she has made a good amount of recovery! She seems almost back to her regular self, eating and even wanting to play.
Whew!! Girl gave me a good scare that time!
I can only imagine how she managed to do that. She was running with her mouth open, baying (sound hounds make when hunting) and she either came across a stick and it broke off when it lodged in her throat, or she caught up to what she was chasing and tried to grab it and got a stick instead.... I'll never know 😱😅
Thank you so much to all of my clients for understanding and for everyone's support over the last 5 days.
For those who reached out and sent us healing thoughts and well wishes! It truly means so much 💜
Hopefully she'll be back to full shenanigans after a week of resting.
