We just came back from the vet with Bryson (with a big hole in our wallet).
We've been noticing a bit of running nose, eye redness yesterday, and he seemed to be wincing a bit as he chews. We thought we'll just keep an eye on him, but when today his spat out his beloved Sam's Yam sweet potato treat and yelped in pain, we know something's seriously wrong...
I don't have a good feeling here, can we go home now?
The vet was extremely patient and gentle, and even then Bryson almost bit off her finger when she tried to open his mouth. So they had to put him under to do a thorough exam and take some expensive x-rays. After a couple hours of nail-biting anxiety, the diagnosis came... he has a retrobulbar abscess. You're not the only one asking "Retro huh?!" Well, the vet explained to us that something sharp (a stick, bone, or foxtail) has punctured the gum behind his upper molar, causing an infection to track into his sinus all the way up to just behind the eye, causing all his painful symptoms. I've seen plenty of unfortunate dogs suffering from unfortunate problems like this on TV (like the excellent show E-Vet Interns), never thought it could happen to us...
Guess anything can happen on Friday the 13th.
The post-anesthesia Bryson: "I feel better now... in fact, much, much, much better, like I'm floating above an all-you-can-eat treat buffet... oooh...... maybe we should go back to the vet..."
