Run Through Woods Turns Into Painful Discovery For Rockford Puppy
ROCKFORD, Minn. (WCCO) -- A carefree run through the woods left a Minnesota puppy in a lot of pain over the summer.
What's worse: It took nearly six months to figure out what was wrong.
This is Cuddy. She's an Irish Setter who lives in Wright County with her owner, Myrle.
Back in July, the 1-year-old dog was rushed to an animal hospital, but it wasn't clear what happened to her. It turns out, she needed a specialist and a little something extra in her medical exam.
"What she likes to do is hunt and chase things and track and she knows where all the squirrels, rabbits and chipmunks are in the yard," Cuddy's owner, Myrle Croasdale, said.
And Cuddy also likes sticks and branches.
Back in July while running through her own yard in Rockford, Cuddy emerged from the woods in extreme pain.
"It's hard to describe. Choking and baying, really in a panic. She was just hysterical," Croasdale said. "There wasn't a mark on her. I couldn't figure it out. Then she went in shock and we thought we would lose her on the way to the emergency animal hospital."
Croasdale says the veterinarian thought a small puncture wound or a hornet's sting might be the problem. X-rays revealed nothing wrong, but as weeks and months passed Cuddy endured fevers, abcesses and infections.
This week, Myrle took her best friend to see the specialists here at BluePearl Veterinary Partners in Eden Prairie.
"Here is the offending stick we got out of her neck," Dr. Andrew Jackson said.
Dr. Andrew Jackson discovered what was causing Cuddy pain. He says a 2-and-a-half inch wooden stick was deep in the dog's throat and explained why the initial x-ray didn't show it.
"Wood doesn't show up on X-rays, so you could take X-rays of her neck and you wouldn't see anything. So we did a special X-ray where we injected dye into her neck, through the holes of the draining track and that highlighted the stick pretty well," Jackson said.
Days later Cuddy is feeling much better, but still a bit camera shy.
The vet says Cuddy will be on antibiotics for quite a while, but she is expected to make a full recovery. Myrle got help paying for Cuddy's medical expenses by reaching out to a foundation called Frankie's Friends that helps pet owners.
