# Update on Caira's skin infection



## bellaratamaltese (May 24, 2006)

*****Warning - somewhat disturbing pics ahead*****


Well, good news and bad news with this one. To recap, for MONTHS (and I mean months) I've been dealing with Caira and a skin infection where she has open oozing lesions. She has been on antibitoics for months

Good news? 

Skin is almost all cleared up

This is what it looked like 5 weeks ago









and today, after a month of Simplicef










The bad news?

I still can't take the cone off of her 
She's even worse than before, except this time it isn't her skin, it's her eyes.

I took her to the vet today and he thinks it's allergy related (still) but even with the cone on, she has been digging at her eyes so now she has upgraded to a bigger one. It's mostly the right eye and she has done significant damage to the skin around her eye so it's now green, goopy and infected.









during a a bath today

















You can see how much worse the right eye is









And while we were at the vet today. Her hair cut is atrocious as i've had to cut (as in, hack) more and more out of necessity but her bad hair cut is the least of this poor thing's problems. :crying:

Here has been her long course of treatment:

3 weeks of Lincomycin with 2 weeks of Predisone
(no change)

3 weeks of an anti-fungal
(no change)

2 weeks of Clavamox
(no change and getting worse with new lesions on the Clavamox)

4 weeks of Simplicef 
(finally the lesions cleared up)

and now....

4 more weeks of Simplicef. He wanted to put her back on Clavamox but since it had done nothing before, I didn't want to waste that time for no results, so I requested the Simplicef again She is also back on predisone and eye meds. 

I have not started the colostrum that was recommended because i didn't want to put her on too many things at once, where I wouldn't know which thing was what cleared things up, but now I won't have that problem and will start it.


She has been on a strict allergy diet (rabbit and potato kibble with potato treats) for 6 weeks. I am taking her to the dermatologist again on tuesday for a recheck but I didn't want to wait until then to have her examined, so I took her back to my vet again. The dermatologist is only in town twice a month so I don't have the option of taking her in to be soon sooner. 

I had never truly appreciated how awful allergies can be for a dog - now I can. She has had to wear a cone 24/7 for at least 5 months, I just want to get her to a point where I can take it off!

Thank you for reading and for all your inquiries and well-wishes on my sweet girl. I hope this gets completely cleared up soon! Not only has it been miserable for Caira, it hasn't been a cheap situation 

On a positive note - Lois is due to have puppies next week :chili:


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## Matilda's mommy (Jun 1, 2005)

oh Caira:bysmilie:all I can do is keep praying for you baby girl.
Stacy my heart is breaking right now, I had hoped for better news.
Hang in there


Losi is going to be a mommy, I'm so excited make sure and keep us updated and pictures when the babies come, you know how I love seeing those pictures. do you know how many puppy's Lois is having


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## Hunter's Mom (Dec 8, 2008)

oh that looks so painful and bothersome. Is there something they can give her that will dull the pain and irritation a bit so that she isn't so inclined to scratch? Perhaps a little bit of a doggie tranquliazer just to lessen her desire so that it can heal?


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## Ladysmom (Oct 19, 2004)

OMG! Her poor eye looks awful! Poor Ciara must be miserable!

Have you considered allergy shots for her? She seems to have such extreme allergies, she might be a good candidate.


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## mary-anderson (Jan 12, 2010)

Stacy, I will contiue to pray for your beautiful Caira. I was
so hoping for good news. When I saw her skin I had such
high hopes, but the I saw her eye, I have to say I was shocked.
She is very lucky she has you to love her and give her the special
care she needs.:wub:


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## Silkmalteselover (Apr 1, 2010)

Stacy Your Caira is so blessed to be living with you... how many could handle the cost and the care required for this very awful condition.. OH how I am agreeing with you that it will end soon.


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## Bailey&Me (Mar 8, 2010)

Oh no, poor baby! That looks so painful for poor Caira...I hope she gets better soon!


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## gigigirlz (Jun 18, 2007)

*Poor Baby...*

I feel so bad for her....sure hope she heals quickly.....hugs....


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## njdrake (Apr 23, 2007)

Just looking at Caira's pictures makes me want to cry. :smcry:I'm so sorry this is still going on. I didn't realize you were still having allergy problems with her. Bless her heart, that has to be terrible for her. She's a lucky girl that she's with you and you're doing everything you can to get her feeling better. I hope this is better for both of you soon. I just want to give her a hug.
:grouphug:


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## dwerten (Oct 6, 2007)

Stacy I am so sorry  who is the dermatologist? Is it related to www.animaldermatology.com as that is who we go to. I have a soft cone that is really comfy for her if you need it i just bought some new ones from www.yorkiefantasy.com which i really like these alot here is a pic of it and I have used these with dee dee before when she rubbed her eyes like this which was a food allergy so did the eye rubbing start after food change or before? 

Miscellaneous Items for small dogs

Simplicef is usually the best for staph type infections - did they do a skin culture and send out to lab? DD had an allergic reaction to simplicef which is very rare and clindamyacin worked great as well for staph and skin infections can take a long time to heal up if they get bad enough. It took two 25 day rounds of clindamyacin to kill it finally but simplicef is the first choice for our dermatologist then off to skin culture at lab which we did for dee dee. 

This allergy season is the worst our derm said and being in california it is bad too  YOu can check www.pollen.com to see how bad your zip code area is.

I feel so bad for you and her as i know how frustrating this stuff is after dealing with it for 6 years now. What are you bathing her in as sometimes those vet shampoos can be very strong and cause reactions such as what you are seeing around her eyes as that happened to dee dee as well so she cannot use the vet shampoos like malaseb and ketachlor for that reason. She does best with duoxo chlorhexedine diluted as it is not as strong and definitely not around face. Are you seeing this reaction after shampooing her if so it is the shampoo. 

Tami has my number if you want to talk but again so sorry you are going through this and i will fed ex over the soft ecollar if you need it asap


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## tamizami (May 1, 2007)

o gosh stacy, i am so very sorry that poor caira is still uncomfortable! i really hope you can get to the bottom of this soon and get her back to her crazy self. :grouphug:


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## dwerten (Oct 6, 2007)

here is dd pic of her eye from food allergy 

DEE DEE ALLERGIES :: 2010-01006.jpg picture by dwerten - Photobucket

and here is a pic of a reaction to a vet shampoo which was on body only not around face but affected around her head 

DEE DEE ALLERGIES :: Sebalux Shampo Reaction picture by dwerten - Photobucket

http://s448.photobucket.com/albums/qq201/dwerten/DEE DEE ALLERGIES/?action=view&current=IMG_2309.jpghttp://s448.photobucket.com/albums/qq201/dwerten/DEE DEE ALLERGIES/?action=view&current=IMG_2310.jpg

this is all i have quickly to post as on work laptop hope it helps


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## Punky (Jul 15, 2010)

Poor little Caira, please give her gentle hug's from me  I feel so bad for her I cant even think how painful that must feel to her. Max and Reggie said he well wishes also. Wish it all would be ok and her not to hurt like that.

Lois! ((Hug's)) hehe crosses finger's:wub::wub::wub: I am praying for a safe delivery and healthy babies! I will even come hold you little paw so your not scared Lois


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## Nissa Fiona (Nov 4, 2007)

I feel so bad for her. The cone of shame is the worst and she looks miserable. The poor little thing.


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## 3malteseboyz (Feb 6, 2008)

So sorry that you and your little one are dealing with this :O(

Have you taken her off all flea/tick products are well as not giving vaccines to see if maybe these could be part of the issue?? Just a thought.


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## Maidto2Maltese (Oct 19, 2004)

Oh your poor, dear little girl! Willl be praying like crazy some resolution to her problems can be found and she can find comfort.


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## aprilb (Jul 9, 2010)

I have never seen anything like this before. How awful for her and you. I'm so sorry. I hope the new round of meds brings relief :wub:


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## Johita (Jul 10, 2009)

Oh no, poor baby must be miserable! It sucks that she has to wear that cone too. It's moments like these that I wish they could talk so they can tell us how we can comfort them. Is there another type of cone she can wear? I think I've heard of some soft ones that are a bit mroe comfortable and she won't be able to get to her eye though I'm not sure what they're called. I hope she heals soon so that she can rest easy.


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## uniquelovdolce (Mar 10, 2010)

as a sufferer of allergies and really bad eye allergies where i wanna rub n claw my eyes out i symphatize . that has to be soo uncomfortable for her .. have they not found out what she is allergic to ? i hope n will pray for ur baby girl every single day!! i hope she gets better soon n that u finally find the cure .. isnt there anything they can put to numb the eye ? maybe cover it , so she doesnt have to wear the cone .. im so sad for her n u !!! 

to ur mama doggie , may she have a safe delivery !!


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## edelweiss (Apr 23, 2010)

We are sending big, big tight hugs to you and prayers upward for your baby!


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## Miss_Annie (Mar 3, 2010)

Poor baby girl...  I'm so glad she has such a wonderful mommy


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## bellaratamaltese (May 24, 2006)

Matilda's mommy said:


> oh Caira:bysmilie:all I can do is keep praying for you baby girl.
> Stacy my heart is breaking right now, I had hoped for better news.
> Hang in there
> 
> ...


I'm not sure which is worse for her - the eye thing or the skin infection  Hoping we get everything cleared up soon!

There were 4 puppies on ultrasound but I'm having an xray done on monday to get a final count. Hoping it all goes well and she doesn't have any problems like her mom has whelping. This is my first litter in almost a year so I'm hoping to get some nice pups to show from it!



Hunter's Mom said:


> oh that looks so painful and bothersome. Is there something they can give her that will dull the pain and irritation a bit so that she isn't so inclined to scratch? Perhaps a little bit of a doggie tranquliazer just to lessen her desire so that it can heal?


i will ask my dermatologist vet for something like that, since we see him tuesday. It was hard giving her bath because she was so uncomfortable and fought me the whole time  



Ladysmom said:


> OMG! Her poor eye looks awful! Poor Ciara must be miserable!
> 
> Have you considered allergy shots for her? She seems to have such extreme allergies, she might be a good candidate.


I will definitely ask the dermatologist about allergy shots, I'll try anything at this point!



mary-anderson said:


> Stacy, I will contiue to pray for your beautiful Caira. I was
> so hoping for good news. When I saw her skin I had such
> high hopes, but the I saw her eye, I have to say I was shocked.
> She is very lucky she has you to love her and give her the special
> care she needs.:wub:


I just want her to get better, i miss my silly Caira!



Silkmalteselover said:


> Stacy Your Caira is so blessed to be living with you... how many could handle the cost and the care required for this very awful condition.. OH how I am agreeing with you that it will end soon.


Yes, it hasnt' been cheap, that is for sure. Hopefully it will end soon - at least her skin is better!



Bailey&Me said:


> Oh no, poor baby! That looks so painful for poor Caira...I hope she gets better soon!


a lot of it was self- inflicted, I think. If she had the cone off though, boy, it would look a MILLION times worse


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## kathym (Aug 5, 2006)

Hopefully they can find out exactly what she is allergic to ...poor baby


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## MandyMc65 (Jun 14, 2007)

Aww poor baby Cai! Hopefully it clears up soon! Kenz sends her mama some hugs and kisses.

How exciting that Lois is gonna be a mom!! All the other dogs are going to have to hide!


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## bellaratamaltese (May 24, 2006)

gigigirlz said:


> I feel so bad for her....sure hope she heals quickly.....hugs....


I know, me too!! Poor Caira 



njdrake said:


> Just looking at Caira's pictures makes me want to cry. :smcry:I'm so sorry this is still going on. I didn't realize you were still having allergy problems with her. Bless her heart, that has to be terrible for her. She's a lucky girl that she's with you and you're doing everything you can to get her feeling better. I hope this is better for both of you soon. I just want to give her a hug.
> :grouphug:


Oh thank you, I hope it's better for her also soon! 



dwerten said:


> Stacy I am so sorry  who is the dermatologist? Is it related to www.animaldermatology.com as that is who we go to. I have a soft cone that is really comfy for her if you need it i just bought some new ones from www.yorkiefantasy.com which i really like these alot here is a pic of it and I have used these with dee dee before when she rubbed her eyes like this which was a food allergy so did the eye rubbing start after food change or before?
> 
> Miscellaneous Items for small dogs
> 
> ...


Hi Deb! Yes, they did a culture and also did a punch biopsy of the worst of the skin lesions. He looked under the microscope at a sampling of her eye stuff and didn't see any yeast or anything.

I have tried a soft cone but she can get it off yet leaves the hard cone alone. I had them put a bigger cone on her yesterday but it was too sad trying to watch her eat with it on so I put the smaller one back on. 

Shampoo wise, she was given mal-keet but I hadn't bathed her recently in it, so i don't think it was the shampoo. I'm taking her to Dr Lewis, who i think comes from northern california. He is in Fresno 2 x a month, so that is where i see him. I think I'm going to regret that my vet started her back on prednisone, esp if it is going to prevent her getting allergy shots 



tamizami said:


> o gosh stacy, i am so very sorry that poor caira is still uncomfortable! i really hope you can get to the bottom of this soon and get her back to her crazy self. :grouphug:


Yes, I miss her crazy self. She has had moments of her favorite pastime (which is annoying Lucy) so that is always nice to see!



Punky said:


> Poor little Caira, please give her gentle hug's from me  I feel so bad for her I cant even think how painful that must feel to her. Max and Reggie said he well wishes also. Wish it all would be ok and her not to hurt like that.
> 
> Lois! ((Hug's)) hehe crosses finger's:wub::wub::wub: I am praying for a safe delivery and healthy babies! I will even come hold you little paw so your not scared Lois


Aww! I'm sure Lois would appreciate it! 


Nissa Fiona said:


> I feel so bad for her. The cone of shame is the worst and she looks miserable. The poor little thing.


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## dwerten (Oct 6, 2007)

Stacy how old is she? as allergies usually start from ages 6 mos to 3 years old so if she is over 3 then it could be something that happened recently that triggered it any ideas? Any thing that might of affected her immune system recently? 

Are you vaccinating every 3 years or titering as vaccinating can affect the immune system and trigger allergic reactions as well as all of dee dee's issues started after her puppy shots at 6 mos old so some dogs may have a poor immune system and then that sends them over the edge. 

I feel so bad for you and her  I know how frustrating it can be 

Did you change foods prior to this happening? 

What did vet see on skin culture and biopsy was it yeast or bacteria? 

I know with dee dee when i changed food she was rubbing her eyes raw and it took a while in the cone to keep her eyes safe. She has never been affected environmentally with her eyes other than that and the vet shampoo in the 6 years of dealing with this. 

Just trying to think of anything that may trigger something to help you out as feel so bad as that looks really painful  Is vet giving an ointment for eyes? 

I recommend using probiotics as well while do antibiotics as it helps to balance them out so the infection does not re-occur as the skin infections are hard to kill and many times come back once you stop the antibiotics and why with skin the antibiotics are given for 25 days rather than less like with other infections like uti, etc. 

I was doing the antibiotics at night mid meal then two hours later giving probiotics then doing probiotics in am as well as i always double up probiotics with dd whenever using antibiotics so i do in am before food and evening 2 hrs after antibiotics so she gets a good amount of good bacteria in her system after taking the antibiotic. 

hope it helps


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## mysugarbears (Aug 13, 2007)

Oh poor Caira, i hope she gets some relief soon. Please give her a kiss and hug for me. 

Praying that Lois as an easy delivery with her puppies.


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## Snowbody (Jan 3, 2009)

Oh Stacy - I just saw this. I'm so sorry. Poor Caira. Having had a DS with eczema and allergies I know that they just want to rub and scratch until it's raw. My friends malt had very bad allergies and they did put him on a little sedative to calm him until they got to the bottom of it. I can't believe what her eye looks like. :smcry: I wish there was something we could do to help. And now puppies coming. Wow - I hope you find a few moments of peace and rest. Sending you prayers that Caira will get better and that Lois' litter will be happy and healthy. :grouphug:


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## revakb2 (Sep 8, 2006)

Gosh, I was hoping Caira would be much better by now. I can only imagine how miserable she is, and how hard it is for all of you. I sure hope you can find the cause of her allergies.
We need our crazy Caira back. Hopefully Lois will have an easy delivery and healthy pups.
Who's the dad? Lots of hugs for your precious crew.


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## Lacie's Mom (Oct 11, 2006)

Stacy, you must be beside yourself as this has been soing on for soooooooo long. I'm glad that Caira is better, but it's sad that she's not completely back to normal after all the tests and treatments.

Congratulations on Lois. Hopefully she will free whelp for you without ANY problems. I know that the pups will be gorgeous. I think you told me, but who is the sire? And when is she due (may have missed it)?

Caira -- still praying that you are completely well very soon.


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## Harley & Dakotas Mum (Jun 11, 2005)

My heart goes out to you Stacy, and sweet little Caira!! I also know first hand how NOT fun doggy allergies can be. The worst part is that there is never a 'quick fix'. Caira is very lucky to have you!


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## bellaratamaltese (May 24, 2006)

Lacie's Mom said:


> Stacy, you must be beside yourself as this has been soing on for soooooooo long. I'm glad that Caira is better, but it's sad that she's not completely back to normal after all the tests and treatments.
> 
> Congratulations on Lois. Hopefully she will free whelp for you without ANY problems. I know that the pups will be gorgeous. I think you told me, but who is the sire? And when is she due (may have missed it)?
> 
> Caira -- still praying that you are completely well very soon.


The sire is Ch. Delcost Armani by Marc owned by Sheila Riley and bred by Christine Gilles (he is a full brother to BISS Ch Delcost Marc by Design, who is Emma and Truffles dad) 

Here is what the pedigree will be.
WebGeneal 4.7.7 (2010.08.08)


Lois is due on the 20th and I'm having an xray done on monday. There were 4 on u/s but we'll see what the count is now. Since her mom has had a lot of problems whelping, I'm just hoping that it didn't pass down to her daughter!


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## Nikki's Mom (Feb 13, 2008)

Stacy, I am so sorry Caira is dealing with the skin issue. I hope it gets resolved soon, poor baby.


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## The A Team (Dec 1, 2005)

Oh Stacy, I thought Caira's skin had cleared up by now! I am so sorry she's having to go through this painful situation (You Too!) 

I really hope the doctor can find something to help her to get this under control for good. Do you think she's allergic to something in your home? Or just food?


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## Alvar's Mom (Mar 5, 2007)

Oh poor Caira, I'm so sorry she's sooo uncomfortable :grouphug: I hope the doctors get to the bottom of it soon.


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## Lacie's Mom (Oct 11, 2006)

Stacy -- like the pedigree. Should be a nice line-breed but not too tight. I can't wait to see how Lois does as a mother. I'm praying that she doesn't have a bit of trouble whelping.

Still praying for sweet little Caira to get COMPLETELY better and soon.


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## Starsmom (Jan 31, 2009)

OMG! That looks positively horrible. Has a culture been done to look for MRSA or any other infection? It just doesn't seem right that a skin allergy would show up in adulthood out of the blue. I hope she gets better soon...

And then there's Ms. Lois - early congrats to her pending motherhood!:chili:


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## bebybeck (Apr 22, 2010)

Finnegan say he can relate to wearing the "cone of shame". He only has to wear it for 2 weeks. Hang in there Caira.


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## Snowball Pie's Mommi (Oct 16, 2008)

Oh, Stacy, I am just seeing your thread. I am so sorry that Caira is enduring this ... my heart goes out to both you and her. The poor sweetheart, it has to be frustrating for her to have the cone on for so long. And, then, of course the irritation she must be feeling with her eye.

Last year Snowball developed an infection in his right eye. It came on suddenly after he had been scratching his eye. He had scratched his eye so bad that it started to bleed a little. I forget at the moment which antibiotic he was put on, along with an eye ointment ... but, it cleared up pretty fast. Right before the eye infection, he had a few hot spots under his chin and around the shoulder area. 

Beside the antibiotic treatment, and Benadryl to calm down the itching, Krisi suggested Sebolux shampoo. Since then, we haven't had any more problems with hot spots or an eye infection. I'm not sure what caused Snowball's itching, but, I think it was the Frontline ... because it seemed to happen every month after we applied the Frontline. And, then, when we switched to Revolution, the itching stopped. 

Snowball's eye did look a lot like Caira's eye ... but, the redness was not as far down as on her face ... it was more around the eye area and didn't spread. I did cut the hair around Snowball's eye area because I wanted the area to stay clean and not become more irritated ... and, I knew his hair would grow back, which it did. 

I hope sweet Caira and you find relief and that her doctor will find the right cure for her eye soon. Please give Caira gentle hugs and kisses from her Auntie Marie. :wub:

I also wish Lois a happy and healthy delivery with her puppies. :tender:

Hugs for you, Stacy. Caira is blessed to have you as her Mommy.


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## spookiesmom (Mar 28, 2010)

I found a really. Nice inflateabe collar for Spookie before her spay at Petco. More like a life ring preserver than an ecollar. Could also be used as a stopper to keep from going through fence rails


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## silverhaven (Sep 6, 2009)

Oh no!!!! that is awful. Sorry for some reason I thought it was an old thread. Poor little girl, she must be so unhappy with all this. :crying: big hugs to you and little Caira. :grouphug:


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## Morkie4 (Oct 13, 2006)

Those pictures had my stomach doing flip flops........it looks so painful!!! Hope you can get to the bottom of this and get her feeling a lot better. (Hugs to "YOU" and "CAIRA)

Congrats on the new litter coming along.:wub: Hope all goes well and you get some beautiful babies. :thumbsup:


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## jude'n'jools (Apr 6, 2006)

oh that looks so sore  poor Caira!!

Good luck with the upcoming whelp, hope it all goes smooth x


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