I May Be Blind, But I Know That's Not A Carrot

Alayne took these photos this evening while I was giving blind Darby, a recent arrival from Washington state, her medications.  Darby is on an antibiotic for a lingering infection from wounds she received before she came here.  She was beat up and cut up, and you can see some of the scars and scabs on her chest ... they are all over her.  Most are healing just fine, but she's got one under her jaw that continues to get infected.

The drug is sulfamethoxazole trimethoprim, which is a quite a mouthful, so everyone calls it 'trimeth sulfa' (yes, that's backwards for some reason).  We put 10 tablets in a big 60 cc syringe, fill it with water, let the tablets dissolve, then squirt it into the back of her mouth.  In this first photo I'm letting her feel and smell the syringe so she knows what's coming ... but you don't want too much advance warning or they start thinking about how to avoid it!  (Notice ears back.  Hmm.)

In this shot I've just put the tip of the syringe inside her mouth at the back of her lips.  Darby is very good about taking her medication, although sometimes she can become a bit of a 'head tosser'  -- and then you've got a moving target to hit.  Once I get the tip in her mouth, I start pressing down on the plunger to begin squirting the dissolved trimeth sulfa.  Some horses -- blind Chance, for instance -- have developed a knack for pushing their tongue against the syringe tip, effectively blocking the flow.  (Clever, huh?)  That means moving the syringe around rapidly, up and down and back and forth, to break the 'tongue dam.'

And then, once I've got the fluid going in, I push the syringe farther in towards the back of her mouth, and at the same time with my other hand I push her head up.  This makes it harder for her to spit the fluid out and more likely she'll swallow it right away.  (That's the theory, anyway.)  This is what you see me doing in this final photo.

Elapsed time:  Under 10 seconds.

After getting her dose, Darby got her dinner.  That's what blind Cactus Jack in the background is waiting for, too!

(Click on photo for larger image.)

Comments

[leilani]

You sure can accomplish a lot in 10 seconds, Steve! Darby looks like a good recipient. I hope her wounds heal well.
I read the profile on Cactus Jack; I work down the street from Medtronics, who donated your Tono-Pen. I'm so happy they provided the equipment to you!

Welcome to the Ranch dear Darby!

[ginger & Tobias (the greythound)]

Brrr! It certainly looks cold there! The sunset over the mountains in the background is beautiful, but I'm sure you had that planned! Poor Darby! I don't know what her story is, but I'm so glad she's with you now. You do such an excellent job getting the medicine into her mouth. You seem to have a talent for it, but then you get a lot of opportunities.
Tobias & I send everyone warm hugs!

[Roz]

Welcome to the ranch, Darby! I'm so thankful you made it to the ranch so you won't be hurt anymore. Get completely well soon. xoxo