This is a very long post but I hope you take the time to read it. - TopicsExpress

This is a very long post but I hope you take the time to read it. It is in the best interest of your fur babies that I share this. Hodge - Sadly, it is time to close the chapter. Spoke to the vet today and got some of the answers I was looking for, but of course, we will never really know for sure since he could not tell us. Ive had a full week to look back at what happened, when things happened and the progression in which it all unfolded. Ive tormented myself with guilt at the fact that he suffered for 17+ hours (from 3:00pm when I first noticed until 9:00am when he passed)...small at first but more as time went on. Ive also had a full week to research the possible causes and one thing I can say with certainty is that it was NOT a car or horse as originally thought. Hindsight is always better than foresight they say. So this is my way of helping you develop the foresight you may need some day - but I hope not. Snakes and Spiders. Evil little creatures. Tennessee has two types of snakes and two types of spiders that are venomous; Rattle Snake, Copperhead, Brown Recluse and Black Widow. In speaking with the vet, she has been able to save many pets from the bite of a copperhead - but early intervention is key. She said she has not had much success in saving a dog or cat that has ever been bitten by a rattle snake or either of the spiders. With the Brown Recluse, it is usually a few days before the damage is realized and the toxin has begun eating away at the flesh. Amputation is sometimes the only way to stop it. With Black Widow, the venom gets into the bloodstream and attacks the neurological system... and so this is what I think happened to Hodge. Heres how it unfolded: 3:00ish - Hodge came into the house limping on his right foot. I checked it out and there was no visible wound or swelling but clearly it was hurting. 4:20ish - Called the vet because now it appeared as though Hodges LEG was hurting him all the way up to the shoulder. His leg was stiff, he would not bend it and if we tried to, he cried out in pain. He was mobile, but very uncomfortable. Muscles are twitching in pain and he is panting...a lot. 8:45ish - He is much worse. Very restless, cannot lay down for more than a couple of minutes, chest seems to be bothering him - does not like to put any pressure on it. If he lays on his right side, he cannot get up. Im thinking internal injuries and so I call the vet. Internal is unlikely because gums are still pink. Give aspirin to ease the pain. 11:00 - I dont understand it. He is getting worse by the minute. He lays down and its almost like he is paralyzed...he cant get back up. Panting constantly and muscles still quivering. Drinking a lot. His chest seems to be bothering him more now. I try to get him to lay down and I flip him to his back in an effort to maybe relieve some pressure that I think could be the cause. I see swelling along the line of his ribcage. 2:00 - he is stiffening up more. Wont lay down and when he does, he gets right back up. Tries to get on the bed a couple of times. Cant go down the stairs so we have to carry him down and bring him out to go pee. 4:00 - I rescue him from the couch upstairs. He is whining and I find him laying on the couch immobile. Cant move. I help him off and he stiffly walks away - needs to go out. I carry him down the stairs and out the door. I carry him back in and up the stairs again. His back is hunched up as though is stomach is bothering him too. Im still concerned about the bleeding. 6:00 - Shawn takes him out. Carries him the whole way. He is hardly moving. 8:00 - constant panting and muscles have not stopped twitching. Shallower breaths. Called the vet and got an appointment for 9:30 - she is in surgery so that is the earliest I could get in. 8:30 - he starts howling uncontrollably and cannot move. He is paralyzed. This goes on for about 5 minutes. Shawn is quickly getting dressed and getting ready to take him to the vet NOW. 8:40 - He is having seizures. His body is thrashing around and I cant stop it. I am screaming at him to not leave me! Dont die! Im so scared. And then is stops as suddenly as it starts. Im talking to him and stroking his head. Although he does not focus on me, his tail wags...just a little. I think he can hear me. Were bringing you to the vet buddy...hang on. 8:45 - the truck is out front and Shawn quickly carries him in and takes off - without me. Im upset at first but know that we needed to get him there as quickly as possible. He never made it. A black widow spider bite is very painful and its venom will attack the nervous system causing massive release of acetylcholine and norepinephrine, both of which can cause sustained muscular spasms and paralysis. Symptoms include: Early, marked paralysis Muscle tremors and cramping Abdominal rigidity Severe muscle pain in the back, chest and abdomen, manifested by howling, whining and loud vocalizations Trouble breathing, respiratory collapse due to abdominal muscle paralysis Excessive salivation and restlessness Increased blood pressure and heart rate In-coordination and inability to stand (ataxia) Vomiting - not unusual for a dog to vomit up the actual spider Diarrhea Death, if anti-venom treatment is not given quickly Hodge experienced almost every one of those symptoms as time went by. A spider bite is not easily visible to the eye and what we mistook as a pulled muscle or ligament, was actually the early paralysis. Then the muscle twitching and panting was mistaken for typical signs of pain. Throughout the night his symptoms got worse and I was so puzzled by it. But now I think I know why. We will never truly know for sure because even in death there is no sure way to test for this. The speed in which this occurs is not usually as swift as it was with Hodge, but the vet said it is possible that the spider bit right into a main artery in his leg. God forbid that this should ever happen to one of your beloved pets - but if it does, I hope that you will remember this post and recognize the signs early on and have a chance of saving them. The vet said that without the anti-venom for the black widow, it is unlikely that we could have saved him - but had I known, I could have ended his suffering much earlier. Thats the part that hurts the most. I just didnt know. Now you know.