Pernicus Update: Post-vacation

It's the first day back from vacation and I was pleased to hear that you missed my Pernicus updates! Nelson told me he had a few people asking him for updates on my pup. Too funny! It was an eventful week for my little guy, so I thought I'd bring you up to speed.

Jim and I learned a valuable lesson this past week. Never use any product on your pet without researching it first! If we had done our homework we could have spared our poor little guy some misery, for sure.

Pernicus has just recently had an issue with fleas which, since we live in the country, is not a big surprise. So we used an over-the-counter national product to protect him. Unfortunately he had a very adverse reaction to the chemicals in the flea drops.

When I woke up Wednesday morning (the day after treatment), I was aware of Pernicus getting off the bed. He seemed to hit hard but didn't cry out or anything so I went back to sleep. When I awoke fully about a half hour later I noticed that he was limping badly and that he had a bald ring around the base of his tail, which was very swollen.

After some research we realized that he'd had an adverse reaction to the product, so into the tub he went and we washed it all off. The limp was due to the fact that he'd fallen off the bed while trying to lick the stuff off his butt, and he'd bruised his back. So...some anti-inflammatory painkillers and he was doing better.

Wednesday was spent taking our poor, aching little guy out for periodic walks to work out the stiffness, and then watching TV and reading while he rested. I'm happy to report that he's back to his old self! But if you look at the above picture closely, you can see his poor bald tail ring.

While I won't name the product that we used, I will add this word of caution. Before using ANY products on your pets, do your homework. Your pets will thank you!