That is just what might have happened to a dog named Kobe from Burton, Michigan. Janice Lazar said that her dog Kobe was sprayed by a skunk and within a week after a series of seizures the poor dog died.Could this be true that a skunks spray was so lethal that it had made the dog sick enough to die.
A Pathologist at Michigan State University named Dr. Dalen Agnew said: Our research project is based on anecdotal information that suggests skunk spray is toxic, and in a few cases, dogs have died where no other disease was present.
Read the article by Teri Banas here.
36 comments:
Our dog just got sprayed by a skunk and is VERY VERY sick. She is anemic now.
My dad's dog was sprayed last weekend and after a few days of hacking and seizures, she died this morning... We didn't realize they were so harmful!
Steve, I'm sorry to read about the loss of your Dad's dog. Here is a link with a few Prayers for pets that might help in comforting you though your loss. http://prayersforourpets.blogspot.com/ I personally didn't know about how deadly a skunks spray was until I found this article, that's one of the main reasons I started this blog to learn more about pets and to share them with others. I will say a Pray for you and your dad and his beloved dog.
wow I just starting googling skunk and seizures and found this page. My big male GSD was skunked a few weeks ago and within days had a seizure. We got him to the vet within the first 20 mins of it. They tested his blood everything was excellent. They never mentioned that the skunking could have been the cause. On the way home from the vet he had a second one. The vet had given him a steroid injection. We had no idea if the second seizure was related to the first or due to the steroid inj. He is now fully recovered thank the good Lord. But now I feel I at least have confirmation that the seizures began with the skunking. We live in the country and there is a skunk population around. Not sure how to keep them away other then the morning my dogs were skunked that skunked had the sprayed scared out of him. Hopefully he wont be back. I feel so blessed now to know that my dog made it. He weighs about 85 lbs and will soon be a proud pappa of a liter of fully blooded GSD's.
KC
KC, Thanks for sharing about what happened to your dog, Thankfully he made it through. There are so many site that give many different ways to rid a skunk but I personally think that they will come back again at some time. Remember that dogs will be dogs and they are going to chase a skunk if they see one. I do remember many years ago one of our dogs got sprayed and the next time he seen the skunk he ran the other way... Hopefully you pasted on what had happened to your dog to your friends so if one of their dogs happened to get sprayed they will know what to do.
Our 8 year old boxer, Ty was sprayed a couple of weeks ago. A week later he started having seizures. His blood work came out great. A CAT scan showed no tumors but a spot or fluid on his brain. He suddenly died that night. We are heartbroken.
I'm sorry to hear about your dog Ty.
I can hardly type this... sunday we lost our beautiful Heidi, she was a healthy loving German Shepherd until the begining of September, she was sprayed by a skunk in our back yard, thought that the smell was all we had to worry about. In the last several weeks she just seemed to not be well, I never thought..I didn't know. Everyone told us "happens all te time" we lost her sunday, and I couldn't understand why she was with us 11 years and I can barely breath without her. Thank you for this post, with all I am I believe this is what happened to our healthy perfect dog. More people need to know.
I'm sorry about your dog Heidi, I only wish that more people were aware of the danger that a skunks spray can cause.
my dogs both got sprayed, one is a pit bull the other a pit bull mix, even after getting sprayed they continued to grab the skunk and tear it into two pieces, my female was sprayed again recently but no bad side effects or anything either time, just that horrid smell
A skunk sprayed my mother in laws dog, and she seems to have brain damage. Something isn't right, that's for sure
My west highland killed a skunk...and he died about 6 weeks later...up untill then he was very healthy.
Our 8 year old blue female Doberman got sprayed on her face 2days ago and now is very sick we brought her to our vet and after giving her some meds he believes its heinz body hemolytic anemia which was caused by the toxin in the musk. She was fine before this. People need to understand how dangerous skunk spray can be on other animals. It is 5:30am the morning after the vet visit. Her breathing has changed to very rapid. My wife and I are by her side. We are praying to god that she pulls through.
Victor M
Last week I was visiting my folks who had a 7 year old Westie Terrier. She greeted us in her usual excited fashion, frantic jumping, running. I sat on a huge sofa chair, she came up next to me...immediately went into a stroke/ seizure. She died an hour later , on way to vets.
She was in great health...BUT was sprayed by a skunk, 2 weeks earlier. She didn't show signs of anything wrong until then. She did still smell of skunk.
We lost our sweet boy, Higgins, recently. He was a healthy, active dog until he was sprayed by a skunk. We live in the country and it wasn't the first time he was sprayed, but that seems to be the start of his decline. His main symptoms were loss of appetite, eye discharge and lethargy. Our vet doesn't think the skunk had anything to do with Higgins' illness, but to us it was the defining difference in his health.
Our dog was sprayed by a skunk about six days ago. He is only four. He is being very lazy and low lately. We went camping this weekend and all he cared to do most was sleep. This is not even close to normal for him. We are very worried. Called a few vets and they don't think a skunk has anything to do with it??? Any suggestions!? I can't imagine loosing him, he is my daughters best friend!
Hi Shell,
I can only say to keep a close eye on your dog and watch for any other symptoms that might come on.
Also is your dog up to date with all of his shots. (very important)
My 8 year old German shepherd/ausi. Mix was sprayed last night Aug 4th, today she is not being herself at all! She just wants to sleep, she won't leave my side she's vomited twice now and it was really bright yellow, she went to try to poop and didn't she peed on her legs/tail she's been weak and off ballance. She is going into her vet first thing in the morning! If anyone has any advice for the night please email camo32295@live.com
my dog is a smaller dog and he got sprayed 2 nights ago when i let him out to the backyard. I didnt know untill i brought him inside and could smell the horrible scent. I immediately brought him to the shower and did all the recommendations on the internet, vinegar, baking soda, tomato juice, it helps cover it but i can still smell the skunk wen i get close enough to my dog, anyway im worried because my dog dosent want to do anyrthing anymore, before the skunk spray he played fetch and was very energenic, now he dosent even go up stairs or down unless someone carries him. he tries to hide under beds now, and turns his face when i offer him bacon.. i feel so bad, and im worried that maybe this skunk spray is way more vicious than ive heard, i hope he gets healthy soon, i cant bare to watch him look so depressed and down.. smh wish me luck guys, i hope this never happens again!
Our seven year old lab/greyhound mix died a week after being sprayed in the face by a skunk. He developed severe hemolytic anemia (AIHA). On day three after being sprayed, he stopped eating. On day five he was breathing fast and heavy and had pale gums. I rushed him to the vet and they hospitalized him immediately. Unfortunately, after two days more in intensive care, two blood transfusions, and unresponsiveness to the immune suppressing drugs, we had to put him to sleep. We are heartbroken, he was our baby. The vet said she didn't think the skunk had anything to do with it but I'm not so sure.
Our sweet Gauge had gotten sprayed by a skunk a few times. The last time he was sprayed it got him in the face...eyes and mouth before he killed it. We left him outside for the night...and washed him in The am.. Being that it wasn't the first time he had been skunked.. We had washed him several times...tried everything...vinegar,tomatoe juice, baking soda. The smell never really went away...about a month later...he started getting sick. Weak, not eating. Notice he was having a hard time urinating.. Took him to the vet...they said he had kidney infection. Kept him over night and he got worse...now they are telling me it's distemper. Sent him home and said there was nothing they could do for him keep him away from our other dogs... But we knew it wasn't distemper...there's no way that 1 out of 5 dogs had it. Well he died about 2 weeks later. 125lb pitbull healthly like an ox... We truley believe it was the skunk that eventually killed him. Just took longer,,,he was a fighter.. RIP "Fat Boy" he is sooo missed.
Do you know what was wrong with your dog?
We had a 9 year old black lab that got sprayed twice by a skunk 2 times within 24 hours. A couple of days later I noticed she had blisters in her mouth and became really sick. I took her to the vet and they said it had nothing to do with the skunk. She continued to deteriate and they suggested I take her to see a specialist. I did so and they ran tests. 2 weeks later her breathing became very labored so I took her back to the vet but they said there was nothing they could do so I drove her 90 minutes to a specialist. They worked so hard but her heart stopped. I was with her while they administered CPR but they were unable to save her. I still believe the skunk was what caused her death. I loved my sweet Maggie so much and miss her terribly!
My sweet Luke was spray four days ago, direct hit to the face and chest. I noticed within twenty four hours he had quit eating and drinking, within forty eight hours he began vomiting uncontrollably, I got him to the vet and he died within the next 12-14 hours. His labs were completely normal, he was weak and tired from not eating and very dehydrated. They have no idea why he died, and neither do I. It had to have been the skunk, he has been sprayed numerous times so I felt we were not critical. This dog was my world, losing him was absolutely life changing. They did a necropsy on him and found nothing. My best friend is gone and I have no answers, it is heartbreaking. How do vets not know this information????
Many vets do not know this information. If you are reading this because your dog was sprayed and is not acting right, you must act - do not listen to these vets that say it has nothing to do with the skunk spray. Find a vet that had heard of special form of anemia (a low red blood cell count) called Heinz-body anemia. This is what the chemicals in the spray can cause. The dog must be treated for anemia which could include blood transfusions. If your dog isnt right after a spraying and your vet says to 'wait and see' or tells you its not the skunk, find another vet who can give the anemia treatment.
Our sweet Bandit was sprayed in face by a skunk Saturday night, he is a 14 yr old Wired Hair Pointing Griffon. We gave him a bath Sunday morn after making him sleep in garage instead of our room (it was midnight when he was sprayed while out for his bedtime pee) He seemed fine until Monday around 5:00pm his back leg was sore and was limping. Even though normally he acts like a puppy and not an old dog, we thought because of his age he must have pulled a muscle. He then threw up twice and wouldn't eat dinner. We had him lay on his bed and while watching tv with him he started having a seizure, we freaked out, lated pillows under his head talked to him to calm him down. After the first seizure he had two more about 15 min apart. We found an emergency vet and at 10:30pm the vet gave him IV and took blood for tests. He gave him a shot to sedate him but his heart was beating very fast. When I mentioned the skunk spray the vet told us no way the seizures were from skunk. We left Bandit overnight with him and got a call from vet in the morning. He told us Bandit seemed to have had a stroke and his heart rate was still very high and he appeared to be blind. He asked if we wanted him to do X-ray to rule out cancer because his pancreas enzymes showed high. We said ok, he then called back and said Bandit had a tumor or growth in his stomach, pancreas and said he could cut him open or we can come say goodbye. It was so strange that he was so healthy until the skunk sprayed him. We didn't cut him open so not positive if his growth was cancer. We said our goodbye to the best, sweetest dog ever. Our hearts are broken. Vet didn't seem to think skunk spray caused it but I do! Didn't cause his mass that showed up on X-ray but it did cause him to get sick and have seizures that caused stroke and blind and not able to walk.
So sorry to hear about your dog Bandit. I still don't understand why these vets don't believe people when you tell them your dog was sprayed by a skunk. And say it had nothing to do with it.
We just lost our dog last Monday after 15 years... Sad...
Our Romeo (Goldendoodle, 80lbs) was sprayed in face/mouth this past Tues. We immediately washed him TWICE (with the recommended solution) before letting him inside the house. His hair doesn't smell at all anymore but he's vomited 3x's (which I read helps them rid their system of the oils/toxins). He's still playful, eyes aren't pink anymore, but has decreased appetite. His gums only sometimes look pale. But now he's having very soft stools (not quite diarrhea though) and this last BM had a lot of mucus in it. No seizure. Since he's only having a couple symptoms and since vets seem to dismiss skunk spray illnesses, I'm not sure what to do.
Our Romeo (Goldendoodle, 80lbs) was sprayed in face/mouth this past Tues. We immediately washed him TWICE (with the recommended solution) before letting him inside the house. His hair doesn't smell at all anymore but he's vomited 3x's (which I read helps them rid their system of the oils/toxins). He's still playful, eyes aren't pink anymore, but has decreased appetite. His gums only sometimes look pale. But now he's having very soft stools (not quite diarrhea though) and this last BM had a lot of mucus in it. No seizure. Since he's only having a couple symptoms and since vets seem to dismiss skunk spray illnesses, I'm not sure what to do.
Janice
Sorry to hear about your dog Romeo. I would keep a close eye on your dog and you might want to him to another Vet to be sure. Some Vets are clueless when it comes to this. I will put Romeo in my Prayers today.
Our little yorkie (16lbs) got sprayed by a skunk tonight. We showered him three times, gave him hydrogen peroxide, all this within 1 hour. He vomited twice already, the vomit was yellow and smelling like skunk... just hope he will be ok. We already called a vet's office and they said that we did already everything that we could have done...
Cori
I would keep a close eye on your dog.
I keep reading about these vets just pushing everyone off like it nothing.
Call an Animal Hospital and talk to the vets that work there. I think you will get better feedback from them.
I will put your Yorkie in my Prayers today.
My 2 yr. old Rottweiler had been sprayed 4 times and the first 3 it was just a smelly problem. But on July 3 he got sprayed again, brought him home and gave him bath. Afterwards he started coughing (sounded like kennel cough) and throwing up. Whe I finally found a vet that would see him the next morning she did blood work, chest x-rays, probed to se if he had possible fox tail in ears, nose throat. Gave him so antibiotics but said he was fine. Less than a week after that developed serious eye discharge. Took him back to vet, was told he has dry eye, sent me home with some ointment. About a week later nose discharge. All the while I am asking "this is from the skunk spray isn't it?" "Could be........" Now my boy is losing hair and flacky bumpy skin on back of neck. Not to mention his mood has been sad, h's just not the same. My dog has been on premium dog food his whole life, he had a beautiful coat until the last few weeks. I KNOW IT IS DIRECTLY RELATED TO THE SKUNK SPRAY! And no vet is going to tell me different. I just pray my Ruger will pull out of this. I am so sorry to everyone who lost their fury family members because of a damn skunk. I appreciate all your posts because I think its important to let all dog owners who are still under the impression that it's just a smelly problem, should know it is proving to be a fatal one as well.
We have an American Shepherd who was sprayed Friday night. The next morning I saw a light green stain on her chest and leg. Last night at three in the morning she started convulsing. I comforted her and gave her food and water. She has had seizures in the past, and thats when I discovered garlic. It has done wonders for her. Her coat is healthy, her eyes cleared up, her balance is back and she is frolicking like a puppy again. Today she seemed tired and slept more than usual. This afternoon she had another one. She is weak, couldn't jump into a chair like normal. I was suprised that the seizures returned, but after reading all posts I think skunk was the cause this time.
Sorry to hear about your dog.
Please keep us updated on your dog
And please have your dog checked out by a Vet.
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