Foxtail!

I found a foxtail in Fancy's eye. We took an Easter walk in the local hills and Fancy isn't having fun unless she is tramping through the brush. Pie also goes into the bushes, but it is Fancy who finds the thickest bushes to run through.

I didn't notice anything after the walk, but right as I was getting into bed, I saw her eye was red and watery. I couldn't see any irritation, but just to be sure, I pulled the eyelid up and the lower eyelid down, and found this. I didn't find the penny in her eye. That would be wierd. It is just there to show the size of the foxtail in her eye.

It was already embedding itself into the skin on the inside of her eye socket. I was able to pull the skin away from the eyeball using her long hair, and then push the foxtrail within grabbing distance by pushing on the outside (furry part) of the skin. It still took several grabs, but I got it.

Lucky for me Fancy is so easy to handle, and not squirmy like Pie, since it was only me attempting the procedure. Just to see what would happen, I tried pulling Pie' skin under her eye down, but she had no fur to grab, so I couldn't do it! Fancy's skin actually pulls really far away from her eye.

I feel very fortunate to have found the evil foxtail before it did any damage because if I hadn't found it, it might have worked it's way all the way into her skin and the vet might not have found it and it could have caused a huge infection that could have killed her. And I don't really think that is exaggerating either. Here is an article from Leerburg about the dangers of foxtails. http://leerburg.com/foxtail.htm Also, several people on a web board that I frequent told me they personally know dogs who have died from foxtails (all living in CA.) So if you have foxtails in your area, check your dogs after walking in areas with these deadly plants.

I am happy to have my healthy Fancy here with me today. And today I checked her and Pie all over for additional foxtails and found two on Fancy, ready to begin embedding- one in her armpit and one in her toes, but none on Pie. Fancy's coat traps foxtails, while I think Pie's repels them. Fancy went right to sleep after her "procedure."