One of our neighbors was looking for part of his car on the side of the road last evening, so I went to see if I could help out. He was looking for a small piece of his bumper.
“I hit a pig coming home,” he told me. “He ran off so I think he’s OK. But look at my bumper.” I looked and sympathetically shook my head. “That’s an $800 repair bill I sure didn’t need,” he said.
I looked again, and you know what? This fellow was in for a surprise. That repair was going to cost him a lot more than he thought.
Wild pigs are an everyday part of the rural landscape in our tri-county area. Peg and I have lived on the same country road for more than 30 years. During that time, we’ve seen collisions like this at least two dozen times. And more than once, we’ve seen a car totally demolished and the driver hauled off in an ambulance to the emergency room.
Most people drive faster than the speed limit. But at night when visibility is poor and the pigs are out (they roam in the cool of the night), a collision can be disastrous. My neighbor was lucky. Either he struck a small one or his was a glancing blow. Whatever the case, he was going too fast to avoid his costly collision. Driving at night on a country road can be dangerous. Driving fast on these roads can be disastrous.
Q:
Our little dog, Weenie, got a swollen nose last week. Then some bumps showed up on the top of her nose and it looked really sore. She didn’t act like it hurt, but we took her to the vet and she got some pills that the vet says will probably help. What causes infections on the top of the nose? Weenie loves to “root around” in the bushes like a little pig. Did her infection come from doing that?
A:
Dogs that dig around in the dirt can pick up several different fungal infections that cause lesions matching your description of Weenie’s nose. It’s difficult to identify the infective organism without some pretty expensive, and probably unnecessary tests. But infections, alone, aren’t the only thing that can damage the nose. Rooting around like she does, Weenie might find a bee, yellow jacket or other biting insect. A bite from one of these guys can lead to swelling and secondary infections. Both the reaction and subsequent infection are fairly easy to treat with medication. Let’s hope this is the case for your little pooch. But if she’s not better in just a few days, your vet should run a few tests, including a fungal culture. Now here’s a bit of comforting news; most of these inflammatory reactions don’t cause any permanent disfigurement if treated quickly and properly. So as bad as it might look now, Weenie should be just beautiful again very soon.
Q:
Murf is an 8-year-old mutt that has always been very healthy. Last week, he got a swelling under his jaw that is now the size of a large apple. Our vet thought it was an infection at first. But antibiotics didn’t help. Now she tells us that it may be a salivary duct problem and Murf probably needs surgery. We don’t know what to do. Please help.
A:
Saliva enters the mouth by way of tiny ducts or tubules coming from many different salivary glands under the skin. If one of these ducts leaks or ruptures, saliva will get under the skin and accumulate at the lowest point of the jaw (where gravity takes it). This condition, called a salivary cyst or mucocoele, is usually diagnosed with a fine needle aspirate. The veterinarian simply draws a small sample from the center of the swelling with a tiny needle and then analyzes the liquid.
Treatment usually requires surgery to remove the gland that’s leaking the fluid. It’s nearly impossible to just repair the leaking duct. Facial surgery requires a certain amount of skill and practice that many general practitioners lack. And your note sounds as if Murf’s vet is not certain of her diagnosis. So I think you should take him to a vet that specializes in surgery. Murf needs a definitive diagnosis, of course. And if this swelling is a salivary cyst, a surgeon will do a quicker, cleaner job removing the affected gland. There are a lot of blood vessels and nerves around the jaw. A trained surgeon can dissect and remove the gland with less chance for collateral damage to any of these structures. And afterward, Murf will look and feel as good as new.
