Doggy Insurance

WARNING : CONTAINS GRAPHIC PICTURE AT END!

Last night Helix decided it was a good day to test how well his Pet Plan insurance will work :(  He was on leash running in the yard with Daniel when the story gets fuzzy.  There definitely was a yelp and perhaps some tension on the leash but Helix resumed normal play.  However later when Dan was petting him he realized that his hand was picking up blood.  Upon inspection he found a long and very deep gash on the back of Helix's head.  Some panic ensued as he tried to assess the situation and calm a now disturbed and fearful Helix.  Luckily, I returned home from work at this point.  Actually it's not that lucky because I'm completely useless when it comes to wounds.  I immediately told Dan not to show me the wound in fear that I would pass out.  But in trying to assertain if the emergency vet was necessary the wound was revealed and my head feels light just thinking of it now.  We whisked him off to the emergency vet which unfortunately we know all too well.  We were immediately recognized by the staff and luckily it was not terribly busy.

Dan explained and showed the vet Helix's predicament as I held my head between my legs.  The vet decided that due to his energy and excitability he would need to be fully sedated in order to close the wound.  This meant leaving him there for a few hours.  The vet called to say that she had to do skull x-rays because she found an abnormality on his skull and needed to rule out that he hadn't smacked his head and fractured his skull.  Thankfully she found nothing and Helix must just have a weird skull.  Around 10:30p we picked up our little boy wearing a cone and with the back of his head from his ears to his neck shaved and sutured.  It was a surprising sight to see and a couple of the other patient parents snickered!

Helix is now on an antibiotic, pain meds, and restricted activity.  This is difficult with an energetic pup but so far he's doing fairly well.  He hasn't quite figured out that his head has essentially doubled by wearing a cone and he is ramming into everything, poor little guy.  He has had a very positive attitude about the whole experience and that is good.  He's a great pill taker and he has been very cooperative for his 10-min wound icing sessions which I thought he would hate :)

The Following Picture is Graphic!