My Poor Puppy!

My poor baby Romie. For those who don’t know, my dog Romie has been fighting ear infections since we have had him…which is about five or six years (he was here a year before me). We clean his ears often but it doesn’t seem to help. Lately it’s seemed really bad and no matter how often we clean his ears it doesn’t go away. He has been shaking his head like crazy and  rubbing his ear into the carpet to try and get the itch to go away. We kept saying that we need to take him to the vet but we haven’t because there never seems to be a good time.

Well on Saturday morning Rob got a good scare when he went to pet our pretty little puppy. He called the vet immediately and they were able to fit him in that day. Rob being a good husband let me sleep in, whispering in my ear that the dogs ear had gotten worse and he was taking him to the vet. I slept late and when I woke I came out into the living room. Rob told me when I got a second I needed to look at the dog’s left ear and “don’t freak out.” He said the vet told him it was normal and he sees it all the time. It doesn’t hurt the dog but it won’t heal for about two months or so.

I called the dog in and Oh My God. The poor baby. You know how the floppy part of a dog’s ear is flat? Well on the left ear of Romie, the flat part is filled up and puffy…with blood.

It is called an oral hematoma and I guess it is common. He basically shook his head so much that a blood vessel burst in his ear and filled the pocket that is that floppy part of the ear. It looks soooo bad and I just want to cry for him. They gave us ear drops for the infection but more importantly they gave us pills that will dull the sensation in his ear so he won’t shake his head anymore. I’ve never seen anything like it. I have been giving him treats all weekend just because I feel so guilty that we didn’t bring him to a vet sooner to avoid this whole mess.