Dog Owners: BEWARE...Itsy Bitsy Spider...

Dog owners: BEWARE!!

 (Garden Spider)

The Itsy Bitsy Spider crawled up the water spout.

Down came the rain, and washed the spider out.

Out came the sun, and dried up all the rain,

And the Itsy Bitsy Spider went up the spout again.

'The majority of spiders in North America are not poisonous, but bites can still cause localized swelling and pain. However the brown recluse, black widow and hobo spider are poisonous and bites can be very serious. The brown recluse as well as the hobo spider's venom causes localized tissue necrosis (death) leaving a dark ulcer that is slow to heal. Black widow spider bites may cause minimal swelling at the site, but can cause intense pain and even paralysis lasting up to 48 hours.'

(Source HERE) 

We will never know for sure the type of spider responsible for our beautiful Corgi's sudden misery but we wanted to share with others what happened to Mac!

Yesterday was just a beautiful balmy day heralding the beginning of Autumn or so we thought! 
Whilst laying in the sun after a good game of Frisbee, Mac apparently was bitten by a spider (according to the Vetenerian, there is at least 90% chance it is a spider, nothing else). 

Over the course of a few hours he scratched the left side of his face furiously and upon closer inspection we discovered intense swelling, white pustules and even bleeding and thought he might have injured a tooth...

Now Folks, for us this period of the calendar year is dry dock...no access to the mainland since our ferry is in the shipyard for engines fitting...

A phone call however to a nearby islander yield not one, but two people ready and willing to take us across to the mainland and a car waiting for us so that we could transport our favourite boy to a 24 hours Animal Clinic...
By then, the regular Vet had deemed (over the phone) the symptoms serious enough we needed expert help...

So on  Mac went for his first boat ride (a skiff!) in his crate, followed by a long ride in a Wrangler Jeep (about 1 1/2 hours) to reach hospital care...

Well, you know the doc's diagnosis and after promising I would manage his care around the clock, home bound we were! 

A few hours later and a return boat ride amidst a windy and rainy storm, his crate covered with a beach towel courtesy of the thoughtful neighbour,  Mac came home...

There is little doubt that had we waited longer, the poison would have done serious damage. As it is, Mac's recovery is going to be taking a while...

PET OWNERS: BEWARE!!

Note: I decided to show Mac's good side...the other one makes him look like the Joker now that they shaved him...