My dog licked a small frog and was excessively drooling for about 10 seconds and pawed at his face once but was fine after that. I took a warm rag and wiped his gums and the roof of his mouth and his paws really well and he’s acting normally. Should I still be concerned?

This post is specifically for Dr. Krista Magnifico, however anyone is welcome to chime in if you feel you can contribute.

On the evening of Monday, 11/20, our strictly indoor 8yo cat Louie had an accident at home. We aren’t entirely sure what happened, but we observed him jump down from the couch and race across the room, knocking his water bowl over in the process in a way that suggested he was spooked or startled, possibly by an outside noise.

That night he loafed a bit more than usual, but we didn’t think anything of it.

The next day (Tuesday) we noticed he had a noticeable limp in one of his hind legs. He had a slight sprain about six months prior in one of his front legs, and all he was prescribed was rest, so we figured this required the same since he bounced back from that sprain in under a week.

By Tuesday night it was noticeably worse and now both legs were effected, and he was extremely lethargic and kept hiding. We made sure he was comfortable and made plans to take him to a vet the following morning. The next day he was MUCH worse, now dragging his entire body by his front legs with hardly any rear leg movement, and his tail was partially limp as well. Both still had movement, but something was clearly very wrong.

We found a vet who did a quick half assed exam and wouldn’t take x-rays even though we asked for them. She did labwork and prescribed pain meds and said it was likely just a bad fall and he just needed to rest. She told us to follow up with her when we felt it was necessary.

By the next day, Thursday, his rear legs and tail showed absolutely no movement, and he was completely dragging himself with his front legs. And since it was Thanksgiving, everyone was closed, and we don’t have the means to pay for a 24hr emergency facility.

We called the vet back as soon as they opened Friday morning and scheduled the follow-up the same day. We waited in a small room while they took him into another room for a second exam, and when she came back she said his blood work was fine but she recommended putting him down asap because he had developed some sort of neurological issue, likely a slipped disc with his spine. I inquired about treatment options but apparently I didn’t look rich enough, because she just dismissed it as “probably too expensive” and suggested taking him home for some goodbye time, followed by making arrangements.

On Wednesday it was “probably a sprain, just let him rest” and 48 hours later she’s telling us to kill him. Economic Euthanasia in action. Are there treatments? Yes. Can you afford them? No. So fuck you and fuck your cat.

I immediately reached out to another facility for a second opinion. The prognosis was poor, but I was told that there was a chance he could recover with enough rest, attention, love and patience. As long as his appetite remained and he still wanted water, I could let him rest, do physical therapy, pursue acupuncture, etc….and just give him time. He said it could be 50/50 but gave no guarantees. What mattered was he didn’t take away our hope. We were told he wasn’t necessarily in pain, so it wasn’t inhumane to give him a fighting chance. So that’s what we did. The biggest problem was the paralysis meant he couldn’t use his box, so he had to be manually expressed for all his bathroom needs. I could NOT get the hang of it and was incredibly worried about a rupture or blockage. But he had developed incontinence, so even though I wasn’t able to remove his waste myself, it would come out on its own over time. I had to clean a lot of messes as well as clean his backside often, but at least it was coming out one way or another.

Still, he wasn’t examined to my satisfaction, and I wanted to find a vet who took his case more seriously and could actually provide some sort of treatment. After a little research I found one, and they did a FULL neurological exam, asked for his whole story, listened, didn’t rush, and told me how to proceed and what to expect. The did a complimentary ultrasound, two full x-ray sessions and only charged me for one because they did the second just to rule something out, and all in all were angels on earth. They said red light / laser therapy might help, but again couldn’t offer any guarantees. They unit they had on hand was a “Class IV” which is apparently really powerful and efficient, so we began treatment with that immediately, twice weekly.

That was two weeks ago, and as of today it’s now the start of week four. It’s been three full weeks since this all started. Over the last couple weeks, he started showing signs of movement in his right leg. Then his left. Bit by bit. As of today, HE CAN WALK, but only on his “hocks”. His front paws / legs are still fine, and he’s capable of making his way around the house on his own. However he’s still incontinent, and he still isn’t using his box. I’ve been doing my best to clean up after him with warm water and wet wipes (for cats), but he’s starting to develop sores by his anus due to constant over grooming. Apparently I haven’t been doing a well enough job keeping him clean.

We were prescribed a medication called Amoxicillin and Clavulanate Potassium on 12/11 which we were told to give twice daily, 12 hours apart. So we gave him his first dose that night, and twice the next day. He didn’t take well to it and developed horrible diarrhea and vomited a few times as well. Despite this, he still has his appetite and he’s still drinking water. He’s not hiding or showing signs of pain or distress. He still purrs and wants attention, and even wants to play. He just walks on his hocks and can’t use his box. He was also prescribed another medication for nerve pain which was mixed with (I believe) Almond Oil? But he immediately began drooling profusely and had an incredibly adverse reaction to it, and he hated me for the next two days and even became fearful, which was difficult to deal with. Apparently there’s a similar option available in pill / powder form, but our vet won’t prescribe it because apparently it’s too strong for his size.

What all can we do from here on out to help him regain his independence on the bathroom front? What treatments / medications / additional measures would you recommend?

We were told if he were to make a recovery it would take anywhere from 4, 8, or even 12 weeks or more. It’s been three full weeks and he IS walking again (on his hocks), but the bathroom issue is our biggest concern. We’ve laid towels down everywhere but we can’t live like this forever….but at the same time we don’t consider this issue alone to be sufficient reason to end his life. We love him, and he’s family. We’re in it for the long haul.

We were told an MRI to pinpoint the exact spot of his injury would be upwards of 4k and corrective surgery, if it’s a slipped disc, would be 8k – 11k.

We can’t fucking afford any of that, and its safe to say MOST people can’t. What an absolutely predatory situation to be in.

Any advice on how best to proceed from here would be sincerely appreciated. We’re open to anything which has ever shown proven results. Thank you for taking the time to read this. Being concise isn’t among my strong suites.

PYOMETRA SURGERY QUESTION: I have a question for Dr. Krista. Below is background information and I will include cost info for anyone that might be searching for cost information in the future and stumbles across this website. (also uploading a picture of doggie with stitches to gallery)

My 7.5 year old Shepherd/Husky mix just had surgery for pyometra. It was approximately $2000 at a pet hospital in Tennessee for the surgery. (actual surgery was a little under $900 and then additional things such as anesthesia, overnight boarding charge, IV, antibiotics, e-collar, medication, etc ended up racking up the charges to almost $2000.) Her symptoms that caused me to go to the vet were not eating, depressed, excessive drinking, constant licking her private areas, and I did notice she was drooling a lot as well. Her not eating was the main thing that had me worried as this dog will eat anything and gobble her food up in seconds and then lick the bowl clean searching for any missing bits under normal circumstances, yet she even turned her nose up at her favorite foods. I had initially been worried about blockage since she had eaten some table scrap bones a few days prior (which I now know not to do for future reference), but after googling , I came to the conclusion pyometra was more likely. She had just finished her heat cycle a few weeks prior, so everything lined up on her symptoms matching pyometra. The vet did an x-ray and blood work and it did end up being Pyometra. I had never heard of this before and really wish I had as this was an expensive lesson for us to learn and painful for our poor doggie. If we had spaded her when she was younger, it would have been $250 at the exact same place I just paid $2000 to for pretty much the exact same surgery. (though now much riskier and doggie sick) The vet did the surgery the morning following her initial examination. (the initial exam was $425 for exam, x-ray and blood work and was not included in the cost of surgery. I received a 25% discount off of this price for being a new customer) She had the surgery at 10 AM and stayed the night to get extra fluids and antibiotics as she had a pretty bad infection and keep and eye on her. I picked her up at 2 PM the day after her surgery. My doggie was happy to see me when I picked her up and seemed to be feeling much better. She wagged her tag and happily jumped in the car and was excited about going in our house. Once in the house, she visibly drooped, though. I thought that was probably normal after having surgery and she slept a lot. She ate that night and I gave her the medicine in her food. This morning, however, she once again refuses to eat- even her favorite foods. She drinks normally, but doesn’t eat anything, so I also cannot give her the medication, which consisted of an antibiotic and pain pill. I tried forcing a piece of bread in her mouth with the pill inside it but she just spit it out. My question for Dr. Krista or anyone who has had experience with pyometra…. is this normal for a dog not to want to eat a couple of days after surgery? It has now been almost exactly 48 hours since her surgery. She went to the bathroom a little bit ago and both urinated and had a wet bowel movement. I have tried offering all different kinds of foods and she shows no interest. She is just laying around. She is still drooling more than normal, but seems in better shape than when I initially took her to vet… but worried about her lack of appetite. How I can give her the medication if she will not eat. Any recommendations?

Hi, I have a 14 month old australian shepherd mix that has had a terrible time dealing with the car since I got him, specifically a lottttt of drooling. I’ve been able to counter-condition him to be relaxed just sitting in the car but whenever we try to go to the next step and he notices we start moving in the car, the drooling comes right back and he is visibly anxious. I have started taking him to a nearby park with trails (about a 10 minute drive) after seeing Dr. Magnifico’s video on youtube about the subject. He has not vomited yet on these trips but the drool is definitely a concern and so far hasn’t improved (just had our fourth trip today). Also, after these trips he appears more wary of the car, with drooling sometimes starting as we approach the car to return home. As long as he is not vomiting am I not pushing him too much? When I first got him at four months, he was fine until the last 3 minutes of a 45 minute car drive, at which point he threw up. I think this has unfortunately traumatized him since and I just want to make sure I’m not creating further trauma.

I have also tried anti-nausea medication both OTC and from the vet with limited success, definitely does not help the drooling which makes me further believe it is anxiety related.

Any advice is greatly appreciated!

HELP I put sentry flea medicine on my cat’s last night I woke up this morning and my my smaller cat not a kitten she’s just small is like drooling really bad and panting I called Jarrettsville vet but they can’t get me in because I’m not a patient and I don’t have the money for the pet ER it’s too expensive even to walk in I’m desperate can I give her Benadryl what can I do to try to help her any answers will be greatly appreciate it thank you very much…

I have a 9 month old cavalier king Charles puppy. He has just started drooling a lot (enough to leave a big, very wet spot) when is is laying around or sleeping. He hasn’t done this up to now. What can cause this? Is it normal? Should he be seen by the vet?

Our dog has been having seizure episodes, is there anything we can do to help her?

She is a two year old border collie mix. They have been recurring late at night since mid October about every other month. When they happen she loses her balance and can’t walk, she has heavy drool, and she vomits and loses control of her bowels.

These symptoms last around twenty minutes. She has the shakes for about an hour after she regains her balance and the other symptoms pass. After about two hours she is back to acting like herself.

She’s very scared while these are happening, we’ve been comforting her until they pass. Is there anything we can do? What could be causing these?

My dog is acting very lethargic, has a loss of appetite, wobbles when walks or stands, wobbles head while sitting down, and is drooling excessively. Any suggestions? She is one year old and is a cockapoo.

the vet i took bella to concluded that she’d endured a stroke, began her on antibiotics (amoxicillin) and prednisone to treat her symptoms and restore her strength, after a day on fluids, symptoms were overall lethargy, weakness, excessive drooling, occasional nausea, pacing and disorientation. she was doing amazing, i was so thankful. she was acting normal again. until today, the only thing we can attribute the change to (speculation), is that her round of antibiotics was completed yesterday at 6pm. she was acting relatively well until about 12-1:00pm today. we are at a loss, we have no money for the vet for a week or so and i love my bella with all my heart. please help, please, any advice or ideas would be amazing. i just want her to be well and out of pain.