My Sister's Hurt and Her Dog's Going to Die

Life's a nightmare! My little sister and her husband got badly bitten by their dog! Jack's been sick all week, but my gosh, we didn't think he was that bad off. When she tried to move him, he bit her all over her arm. Multiple deep bites. My BIL got bit trying to...I'm not sure what. Rescue her? Keep him away from the kids? I don't have many details about it. My nephew's are physically unharmed, but the older one said he saw his dad "wrestling Jack". I hope my stepniece's at her mother's house; at least they didn't mention her being there.

Sis and the kids were holed up in a room while my BIL went next door to call 911. They had to wait for the police to come take Jack away before they could go to the emergency. They have to spend overnight in the hospital and we have the kids til then.

This is horrid! Jack was previously sweet and goofy retriever mix. He probably bit out of pain because he's sick, but my gosh, that's a scary change! And my sis called us in tears, partly from her pain and partly because she knows he's going to be put down. Just because he sent her to the hospital doesn't mean she stopped loving him!

Please pray for all of us. Between this and my other sister having to fight for her kids in court this week, there's a lot of trauma going around.

Thank you, everyone. Sis and BIL are out of the hospital now, though they're pretty sore. BIL has a broken finger (yes, he was trying to rescue sis). Sis has to, and is able to, go out and buy some long-sleeved shirts to wear to her teacher's assistant job. Liam seems more excited than scared right now, which worries me a bit. We'll still has the boys for tonight to give sis and BIL more rest.

Unfortunately, Jack is as good as dead. Animal Control has him under observation to make sure he's not rabid, but he'll get put to sleep afterward, if not as a danger to the kids then because he's probably suffering too much. They sent his medicine to AC, but who know how much good it'll do. He was adopted from the pound and now he'll die at the pound.

mirandashell said:

Is the dog's illness anything to do with his brain? As Maryn said, sometimes dogs can go nuts when they are in pain.

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We're suspecting that, too. He was diagnosed by the vet as having pancreatitis, valley fever, and an intestinal parasite. Maybe the parasite somehow ended up in his brain. Maybe the vet missed something. We won't know without a necropsy.

Obviously he wasn't himself at that time.

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That's part of what upset my sis; she knows it's not his fault, but they can't take any chances with the kids.

I want to punch a vetrinarian.

Jack is dead. The vet at Animal Control checked him out and said he was in bad shape. He had to be put to sleep. I don't know if they'll do a necropsy on him or not.

They're not the vet I want to punch.

The vet I want to punch works at PetSmart and failed to tell Sis how serious pancreatitis was, and how low the survival rate was. Maybe if she and BIL had known, they could've made a decision on whether to put him down earlier and this whole nasty mess wouldn't've happened!

Thank you, guys. I don't have much to update. I heard a few more details, like how he bit both of my Sis's arms and was clawing her as well. The chief thing I came to say now is that the boys are going home this afternoon, and Liam could some special prayers. He doesn't know yet that Jack's dead, but his parents are going to tell him tonight. He's only 4, and he may need help dealing with it.

Thank you.

Little sis came over yesterday to pick up her boys and gave us more details. That night, he laid down in the middle of a major walkway in their house and growled at everyone who passed by him. Not a good thing considering the kids had to use that walkway, too. He refused to move for Sis, so she gave him a nudge, and that's when he went berserk.

I'm inclined to be more charitable toward Jack's vet now. They still should've told Sis how serious pancreatitis was, but according to AC vet, Jack had distemper as well. If the Wikipedia article's correct, that's pretty hard to diagnose.

It's strange how retriever-type dogs are popping up all over now that Jack's dead. Sunday's Target ad advertized a book with a creepy-looking retriever on the cover. I went to Borders yesterday and saw lots of books on the bargin shelves with Goldens on the cover. And that Humane Society calander that I got free in the mail? I finally remembered Tuesday to change over to May; guess what type of dog they have this month.

mirandashell said:

Always the way, isn't it? Like the universe wants to rub it in....

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I forgot to mention, it's Golden Retriever Week on I Has a Hotdog. Just because God loves me doesn't mean the universe does.

I googled distemper and I think there's a good chance that's what caused the attack. According to one site, neurological symptoms can show up 3 months after infection.

Poor Jack.

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We thought his shots were up to date. Maybe the distemper overwhelmed the vaccine. Not sure how he got exposed to it, though.