Dewclaws. Such an unnecessary evil for a dog. In August, I noticed Harley limping. At 11-and-a-half, she is a bit stiff-legged at times from arthritis, but this was a more pronounced limp and she was having an extra tough time sitting down. She seemed very uncomfortable. She was also becoming a bit snarley, especially when I was touching her paw, which is something that never typically bothers her. Upon further checking, I noticed an odd lump around her dewclaw on her right leg, thinking it was possibly a pulled dewclaw, maybe a splinter, thistle, or even a bee sting , she became extremely agitated when I touched it.    (Warning: some photos may be somewhat graphic, but I am sharing for educational purposes).   Oddity beneath the dew claw.   Off to the vet we went. At the vet, Harley is protective of her paw by hiding it . Harley's paw was shaved and it uncovered a very large inflamed area surrounding the dewclaw and beyond, as you can see in ...

Gibson's first Christmas 2015 season photo with Clarice.   The past few days has been such a rollercoaster of emotions. Gibson made it through the night at the ER, just barely, and was transferred to our vet hospital in the morning, where they had him on heavy doses of antibiotics and IV fluids.  Gib at ER My brave boy began to rebound. His fever dropped from nearly 107 at ER to 103.3. The first two days were touch and go. I've brought him home at night to be with the family, and the days he has been in our vet hospital on the IV fluids.    Over the weekend, our vet tech tech came to check up on him and administer fluids and his meds. His fever continued to drop. Blood tests confirm no more bleeding or bacteria in his belly. Small baby steps in the positive direction.  Last night he began drinking water on his own, had no fever, and could even manage to stand up, although extremely weak after not eating (and he is still not eating on...