Oh my goodness, this morning has been chaos.
I was wrapping up giving Peach her medicine and my dog would NOT shut up! I was shushing and shushing him and he just kept barking and barking. Then I finally looked where he was looking and LOOSE PIG!
I had caught Peach up by simply picking up the fleece tunnel she was in, and then set the tunnel aside. Well tiny little Daisy must have been tucked in there too, and I didn't even notice. She apparently hopped off the coffee table and went exploring while I was giving Peach her eyedrops...
Noted, always check socks and tunnels for additional tiny occupants. My goodness. I'm glad my dog told me about it, otherwise Daisy might have been doodling around on the floor for hours. She could have been squished!
She looks so smug about it, too.
Not a whole minute after Daisy was recaptured I noticed that Apple had taken a haypoke to her upper left eyeball, virtually identical to what Peach had done. For real, Apple?!
Our exotic veterinary hospital is 24/7 except for holidays, just my luck. Since I'd just seen the vet do it and already had the antibiotic eye drops and metacam, I bit the bullet and removed the hay myself. It came out in one piece and didn't leave any bits behind, and I washed out her eye thoroughly to be sure. The degree of corneal ulceration looks similar to what Peach had so I'm not too worried. I'll get her a follow-up if her eye is not looking much better within 24 hours. But I think we're good. Which is good, because the emergency animal hospital here charges like, triple the rates.
I'll see if I can buy another bottle of these eye drops from the vet in case someone else decides to jab their eyeball on a holiday. While I'm thinking of it, are there any other first-aid items or medications I should have on hand? I have styptic powder, big and small syringes, and critical care, but that's about it. I'm curious what else to get for supportive care in an emergency while waiting for a vet, or for dealing with minor mishaps at home. Is leftover metacam (the refrigerated kind) any good? I'll ask the vet...
I'm not an advocate of subbing home care for the vet, but from now on I think I will attempt to treat uncomplicated/straightforward hay-in-eyeball events myself first, since it's apparently going to be a regular thing. If I buckle up and do it myself, I can potentially get the irritant out immediately and minimize the damage, even if we do end up at the vet later anyway to check it. (I wish I'd plucked the hay out of Peach's eye sooner and then taken her in, but I didn't know it was so easy.)
I feel like the worst piggy mother right now, ugh.
I can't believe I didn't notice Daisy in the sock. I've got two pirate pigs, and I'm hoping it's just a coincidence and not that I gave them bad pointy hay or something. Ugh!
Anyway, here are the cuties, Apple and Daisy.