Bliss is sick. It started innocently enough, a few weeks ago, with a rough spot on her udder. I began to treat it with some lotions and potions, and it got a little better. Then after a week when I brought her in to milk for the evening, she had a 3 corner tear on her udder. It wasn't very deep, but about 1 inch long, and bleeding profusely. My neighbor came down and gave me some medicated cream to put on. I did, twice a day, and it seemed to improve a bit. Until it didn't. So I called the vet. There seems to be a bit of dance when dealing with large animal veterinarians. One does not want to call too soon, because they think you are silly. But of course, one does not want to wait too long, either. I think I waited about a day too long this time. The vet clipped the hair off Bliss' udder, and scrubbed the wound briskly. Bliss kicked and fought. The doctor gave her some antibiotics and steroids, and left a spray for me to put on her irritated skin. I had to give her injections for a few days, and spray her skin twice a day. Bliss hated all of it. And she didn't get better. She was up and about but clearly not herself. Her wounds were healing, but slowly, and I believed she still had some infection. I called the veterinarian yesterday and she planned to come this afternoon.
This morning we had a wonderful rain, after a long drought. I had to go out to the goat cozy and put a lead rope on the goats and encourage them to come out in the rain. They think they are so sweet that they will melt if they get wet. I milked Spirit first, as always, then went out and got Bliss. She came along nicely, stopping to empty her bladder and fertilize the back lawn as we went. She hopped up on the table, and gobbled up the animal crackers I always give her, then began on her breakfast grain. I started to milk her. Sometimes when she does not want to be milked she will squat a little, making it difficult for me. I have to admit her, she is kind of a jerk on the milk stand.
Today she took that to a whole new level, and sat like a dog, and yelled like I was hurting her. I tried a variety of things to get her to stand but finally gave up. She was terribly distressed. I managed to get her off the milk stand, but she could hardly walk, arching her back and acting as if she had very little control over her very weak rear legs. The rain came down, and she managed to get as far as her cozy, then collapsed with her head in the door and the rest of her body in a puddle. I managed to get her inside, and sent a rather frantic message to the vet. She called me right back and was here a little after 9.
There was a bit going on this morning. Yesterday the furnace guy came to do the annual check up on our heater. It was fine when he came, and fine when he left, but this morning we had no hot water. No showers for us, and I didn't know what to do about the full line up of dogs wanting baths. I started out by putting a few kettles of water on the gas stove to heat up. Meanwhile we put in an urgent call to the gas company. Add to this the fact that we had another workman coming this morning to repair something. They all arrived at once. Customers, repair people, and marvelous goat doctor.
The veterinarian gave Bliss a full physical. She took her temperature and listened long to her heart, lungs and stomach. We discussed taking a biopsy of her skin, we discussed her strange symptoms and what might be wrong. The vet pressed some milk from her teat and looked carefully to make sure it was healthy. It was. Then she spent a long time gathering medications. "We are going to throw the kitchen sink at her," she said. She have her two kinds of antibiotics, some pain killer, steroids, an anti-parasitic, vitamins and more. Poor Bliss hollered like she was being killed. I held her head, and she laid her face on my chest, staring up at me woefully while she cried. Her rear legs couldn't hold her up, it was terribly distressing.
The vet collected a few hundred dollars and left me with a pile of medicine to give her over the next few days.
Twice during the day I took out buckets of warm water with electrolytes. She drank them down gratefully, two quarts at a time. I took her some animal crackers, her favorite treat, and fresh hay. She mostly laid down all day, in a pile of deep, clean shavings. I watched her from the goat cam. This afternoon I gave her repeat injections, some wormer and probiotics. I sprayed the topical medication on her wound.She cried, and her mother looked on with great concern.
Later, she walked, stumbling, outside for the first time all day. She took a deep drink from the water tub,emptied her bladder, wobbled a bit then went back inside, ate a little alfalfa and rested more.
Over the next few days she will be an unwilling pin cushion as I pump her full of a variety of medicines. Having goats has taught me to get over my squeamishness about needles. Mostly.
I will bring her special food and drink, and hope she will improve each day, and soon be back to her terribly naughty self. I hate it when any of my animals are sick.
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