Horrible start to my birthday.. :( Poor Kaedyn..
I was at work at my 2nd job tonight. I got a call from my sister telling me Kaedyn and Keeva got in a fight. She said it was really bad.. Kaedyn peed and was crying until he had a disgusting amount of goop in his eyes. He has a small, but most likely deep, wound on his neck/jawline area. He must have been terrified! My little man is a warrior and has never showed fear. He is the biggest small dog you will ever meet. To hear that he was crying and soiled himself broke my heart. I immediately gave him some loving when I got home. I've only ever seen him this sad once.. when he was at the shelter. This might even beat that.
I feel so awful for not being there. I know I can't prevent dogs from being dogs.. scuffles are bound to happen. And as much as I'd like to be home with the dogs, I have to pay the bills. But still, I feel horrible. I can't afford to get him stitches either. I took out a loan to get Kai's surgery a few months back. I'm still paying that off. My credit card only has $500 on it.. not nearly enough for stitches and living expenses until my next payday. Keeva's last round of stitches cost $700+. I feel awful. My little man is still going to the vets tomorrow but I will have to bypass the stitches. I can only afford a cleanup and antibiotics.. hopefully it will still heal nicely as it's not a wide wound. :(
I always said I'd never rehome my dogs.. my dogs are my family members. I love Keeva so much but Kaedyn was here first. It's not fair that he's in the state he's in now. It's still not a serious consideration yet but it's in the back of my mind now.. god forbid if Keeva and Kaedyn keep fighting like this, she will have be rehomed :( I will do my best to prevent any further fights though.. the Shelties and Keeva will be seperated when I'm at work. I will start feeding Keeva in a seperate room..
Rehoming is not as bad as it feels, at first
Gosh, I understand your concern as I have been in your situation, only difference being with cats and not dogs.
I brought in a cat, one that I thought was going to do just fine, and it turned out that he, the newcomer, was a dominant male and continually fought with my older cat, Miley. I spent hundreds of dollars at the vet, getting Miley fixed up from the attacks. I just couldn't continue. I was going crazy.
I spent weeks finding just the right home for the male cat. I ended up selecting a woman living several states away from my home. I drove Ti, the kitty, to her home. It was and is the perfect place for him. I was so sad to give him up, but it was for the only option at the time. He is happy now, my home went back to being mostly peaceful. It was the right decision.
It sounds as though you could use some peace of mind and I think you may want to consider re-homing. Good homes are out there, you just need to take your time and be very selective. Luck also comes in to play here, and I wish you much of it right now.
I know how tight money is for many of us, and it is stressful thinking about one more vet bill along with the increase in everything else - and then working yourself to the bone. I worry about my pets and just getting the annual check ups, coming up soon. I am hoping that prices at the vet will drop a little as the economy goes down the tubes. We need a break in some expenses, soon.
The only free advice I can give you medically speaking is that drug stores carry a product that is wonderful for cuts and wounds, called Benedyne (sp). I use it for myself as well. I think it is the stuff the Drs. use when doing surgery etc. They swab the area with the stuff. Looks like Iodyne.... but does wonders keeping the area clean and cleans up the uglies. I learned about it when one of my bunnies, bit the hell out of the other and the wounds were not able to be stitched. The vet had me put the Benedyne on the wounds and wow, they cleared up nicely. I used it a couple of times. I have only one bunny now, so no more wounds!
Keep us posted - I hope things calm down for you.
Re-homing takes some real soul-searching, time and energy, and luck, but sometimes it is the best for you and your pet. Pets can be very forgiving if allowed to thrive in another environment.
