Lilly’s ear injury from a few weeks ago appears to be healing and to be infection free. That’s the good news. The crazy part? Well, it seems she may have a permanent hole.
When I griped about Ginko puncturing Lilly’s ear on Facebook right after it happened, one of my cat-loving pals joked about inserting an earring. (Something I’d never consider.) Then, another friend mentioned that she actually knew someone who pierced her dog’s ears on purpose, but gave up after a few pairs of earrings went missing.
Strange.
Anyway, I wanted to share lessons from this injury.
Our attempts to glob some old, gooey New Skin on the hole made Lilly’s ear hair come out in clumps as time went on. So, if I used it again on a boo-boo, I think I’d be a little more discriminating with the amount and placement of the New Skin … because I think I smothered her hair/fur.
You can see in the photos below how naked the spot looks now.
The big scab that had formed on the outside of Lilly’s ear came off a day or so ago, and that’s when I realized that the hole might be there to stay. I know this picture below isn’t super clear, but I wanted to show how the sunlight shows through. Poor sweetie!
I suppose that tells me she needed a stitch or two for the injury. Sometimes, however, a girl makes triage decisions based on the injury … and her budget.
Gratitude nonetheless that we didn’t face any infection.
One of our neighbors is MANY months into a saga with her German Shepherd’s ears that simply got bonked too hard in play and developed weird infections in the pockets on the edges of the ears. Seriously. Surgery. Tubes. Cone head. For months and months. I cannot imagine. I had no idea GSD ears were so sensitive.
They have to go for recheck appointments pretty much once a week.
So, all things considered, I’m feeling quite lucky … even if Lilly has a permanent little hole in the edge of her ear.
Photo Credit: Claire Schmitt (_rockinfree on Flickr)
I never would have guessed that would happen! I guess it’s just one more thing that will make Lilly unique. I can attest to the sensitivity of a GSD’s ears. It took more than two years after we took Buster in for him to let me clean his ears. Up until that point, I just took him outside in the rain.
Oh gosh, you’re so lucky Lilly won’t have to wear a cone for months! A small hole is almost adorably quirky.
God forbid if you ever got separated–you have a terrific way of identifying Lilly to a stranger!
Glad she’s healing so well.
@Pamela — I had not thought of that. Good point. It’s a good distinguishing mark, I guess.