Oh, the fun with adverse vaccine reactions and treatment side-effects continues. Poor Lilly. Always the dainty thing, while still being a rough-and-tumble mountain girl, Lilly now drools like you would NOT believe.
Ginko has always been a big drooler, especially when he watches us eat, but now Lilly has added her own faucet to the drooling chorus … leaving her legs, our feet, the floor, and anything else in the way a dripping mess.
It’s yet another side-effect from the steroids she is taking for the meningoencephalomyelitis / meningoencephalitis (inflammation of the brain and lining of the brain and spinal cord) after an adverse reaction to a rabies vaccine.
Oh, joy!
Unlike many of the other treatment side-effects that *should* get better as we can wean Lilly off certain medications in the coming months (we hope), our family veterinarian says that often the drooling becomes a learned behavior (remember Pavlov) and never goes away.
Granted, Lilly’s brand of drool is NOTHING like breeds famous for slobber, but still. It’s pretty icky.
So, if I’m a little damp the next time you see me, you’ll know why.
There’s also a nerve, that if damaged, causes a huge amount of drooling. I don’t remember which one it is but our dog, Astro, damaged that nerve many years ago (we never figured out how but it did seem like a neurological “incident” like an infection). It healed and he stopped drooling.
I hope that sweet Lilly also stops drooling someday soon.
Lilly you have gone through so much. Sending positive healing thoughts. Thanks mom for being by her side.