Rewind to Thanksgiving. We had let Nori out into the backyard to run around. After a few minutes, I noticed that things seemed rather ...quiet. I peeked out the window and sure enough, Nori was happily chewing on the scrub brush used to clean my aunt's BBQ. It was full of yummy carcinogens and summer grease. Nori couldn't have managed to look more happy with herself or more guilty. A lot of the soft metal-y bits were lying around her so I just assumed she was using it to brillo-pad her teeth and make them extra shiny. WRONG. Fast forward 12 hours later, as we watched her puke up enough soft metal bits to solder a new heart for the Tin man.
::Score::
Nori: up one
RistoNat: down five for leaving her alone for two minutes
After this episode, she decided she had enough of eating since her stomach ISN"T MADE OF METAL. So she fasted. For 24 hours. If you know anything about my family, not eating is not an option. If you want to pick one thing that will make us freak out, tell us that you're not hungry without a good reason. Just so you know, it's been bred into me that there is no good reason for a person not to be hungry.
By Wednesday of last week, Nori still hadn't returned to normal but she seemed otherwise fine. At lunch, we went for a walk in the park near work. And as I always say... that much fun can only lead to tears. By around 3pm, I just happened to glance at her and thought that the fur around her muzzle seemed a bit sparse and her skin underneath seemed a bit red-ish. Then she pawed at her face. Her eyes seemed puffy to me, but nobody else seemed to think anything was abnormal about her face. I asked everybody for their opinion, promptly dismissed it all and concluded that they were all blind. Yep, once an annoyingly, over-attentive dog owner, ALWAYS an annoyingly, over-attentive dog owner.
On our way home, it was pouring rain. Nori hates the rain. She could barely see from squinting and she kept having to stop every few steps to paw at her face and ears. By the time I got her home, I was ready to dose her with Benadryl. Everything I had read or heard about regarding allergic reactions in dogs pointed to Benadryl as a safe way to combat the swelling. Every website said "1 mg / 1 lb of dog" as the recommended dosage. We gave her 25 mg, about half of what she weighs.
She slept for a couple of hours. When she woke up, she was WORSE. Her face was right heavy due to a large lump on the side of her muzzle and the skin under her eyes were so puffed out, it looked like she had gone 10 rounds in the boxing ring and would definitely be losing the champion title. After we watched her pace around the condo, pawing at her face, we decided to give her another pill to help alleviate the irritation. She conked out for another two hours. Then spent the next six hours pacing around.
At top speed.
On the bed. Off the bed. Face in the duvet. Face in the towel. On the balcony. Back inside. On the bed. Off the bed. Risto stayed up with her so that I could try and catch some sleep but I woke up around 5am after hearing her puke what was left in her stomach. I stayed up so that Risto could get some sleep and surfed the internet to see what else I could find. Google had already provided enough literature to satisfy me that we hadn't given her the wrong Benadryl, but I refused to believe what the box itself said. She wasn't taking any other medications and she didn't have any other known conditions that should have adversly interacted with the Benadryl. 99% of what I read indicated that vets prescribed Benadryl as a mild sedative. Side effects were predominantly described as lethargy, vomiting, diarrhea and lack of appetite. Nori was about as lethargic as a cougar on speed.
Speed.
Then I found this page :: here ::
"Diphenhydramine may enhance the effects of epinephrine"
Epinephrine = adrenaline
Fuck.
So I looked up the side effects of Benadryl on humans :: here ::
Lots of this stuff isn't listed on the box but it was all apparent in the way Nori was behaving. I wouldn't have been surprised to find out that her heart rate was elevated. She was clearly agitated, nervous, excited, irritated and as Risto pointed out, frustrated that she couldn't cut off her eyelids. Finally, I was forced to confront the small print on the box.
"May cause hyperactivity in children"
After touting the drowsy side effects and not operating machinery while taking this medication, the company is basically saying: If you take this, you could sleep. Or you could stay awake. Or you could do both. You could be happy. You could be sad. You can be thirsty and you can have a dry mouth. WE DON'T KNOW.
::Score::
Nori: up two
RistoNat: down five for self medicating without consulting with a vet
The good news was that the swelling in her face had gone down and she was looking normal again, but by now we were more concerned with the fact that she hadn't blinked in 24 hours and that she was still using the couch as a jumping point for racing around the condo at speeds of mach five. She spent the entire day standing at the end of her tether with more incessant pacing of the incessant kind. When we got home Thursday night, she made it clear that She! Needed! To! Be! On! The! Balcony! Outside! So we let her stay overnight on the balcony for the first time in her life. I woke up at 5am, Friday morning, and decided that she should come in to make myself feel better.
She came in readily enough and went straight to her water bowl. At some point she had puked again and was no doubt feeling a bit parched. She took two sips of water. Froze. Stared at the wall. Then bolted towards the balcony door. Clearly spooked and convinced that she would die if I did not let her back outside immediately. By now, she had scared the holy living shit out of me and I was seriously thinking about how to get my hands on some valium. For both of us. As scary as it was, I would have filmed her increasing paranoia but decided against it so that it could not be used as evidence to demonstrate our incompetence as parents in a court of law.
By noon on Friday, the effects seemed to be wearing off. Either that or she was just passed out from physical and mental exhaustion. It was a tough call.
::Final Score::
Nori: 4
RistoNat: disqualified for sheer stupidity
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