My last two roommates at the old house were huge fans of Laika. She loved them both immediately and they reciprocated by feeding her and taking her out in the evenings, especially if I had to work late or work my second job. Evan was the first of these two roommates. He was quiet, loved board games and was used to energetic pitbulls, as his parents took care of one at their home. It was a great match and from the beginning; he and Laika were fast friends.
Additionally, Laika really enjoyed being around Evan because he would regularly host board game parties with his friends and Laika got to be the star! She would be so excited to meet and greet all of this friends. Then, once everyone got settled, she could lay around under the table and get attention for the entire time that they were playing games. Occasionally, she would get bored and wander upstairs, but Laika usually like to keep her eyes on visitors, eternally waiting for any treats they might present to her. (It also probably helped that game-playing involved food-eating, as well.)
Around that time, I didn't really travel much on weekends because I was too busy. One Saturday, however, I planned to go meet a friend in Eire, PA which was about 2 hours or so north of Pittsburgh. It was kind of a blind-date, but not exactly...just going to meet a friend of a friend. Evan was having people over that night and said it would be no problem to keep an eye on Laika, feeding her and letting her out. It would be perfect, as I wouldn't be gone more than 6-7 hours. It was a relief to have such an awesome roommate to take care of my equally awesome pup.
While in Erie, I checked-in a few times with Evan and everything was ok with Laika. I had a good time with my new friend (we ate dinner with another of her friends and I drank a lot of coffee), then I left to return home around 8:30 pm...a bit later than planned, but so it goes. Around 10 pm-ish I called Evan to let him know I was going to be home at 10:30 and said that Laika's head looked a little large. I laughed at first because, well, it was funny. Then he said that it looked like she was having a mild allergic reaction and was scratching her head a bit. I asked him to give her some Atarax, instead of Benadryl, and said I would be home soon. I hauled butt to get home, hoping that the meds would help my poor baby in the meantime!
I got home in record time and upon entering the house, Laika "ran" downstairs to greet me...but her head was completely huge with her eyes almost swollen shut! Despite her puffy, red cheeks, she was smiling like usual, trying to lick me like crazy while her tail buzzed a mile-a-minute. I wanted to cry when I saw her, because she was obviously in discomfort...but I was also amazed and amused that she was not tipping-over from the size of her rose-colored, giant melon. I immediately put her in the car and we left for the emergency room. The whole way there, she was breathing a bit weirdly and rubbing her head on the car seat. I kept talking to her, to keep her focused on something other than the obvious itch. To say I was worried was a serious understatement, but I kept my cool because I had to; the whole time wondering if she had been bitten by a spider or stung by a bee when she was outside.
Luckily, it took less than 20 minutes to get to the vet because it was late at night...and when we arrived, they were, thankfully, not very busy. They admitted her right away because allergic reactions are more "serious" conditions. Again, she wiggled around like usual, miraculously counterbalancing her excited, puffy face. There was a couple waiting for their dog, so to take my mind off of things we started chatting. It turns out that they were friends with my old downstairs neighbor Bobby. This reaffirmed the commonly-held belief that Pittsburgh is a small place and you can meet friends of friends pretty much anywhere.
Mid-conversation, I was consulted by the vet and was told that Laika would be fine but just needed some IV antihistamines. Additionally, the vet said that if this were to happen again, Benadryl would be a better choice for acute allergies. It was a relief and very good to know (especially with an accident-prone, allergic hound). I asked if Laika had sustained a bite of some kind, because I couldn't find one. They said they didn't see one either, which meant that the cause was most likely something she had ingested. It was mysterious, but I didn't want to overthink it. I was just happy that Laika would be ok! I returned to my conversation with the couple, which was entertaining and light-hearted as they had also received good news about their dog. After me regaling them with several Laika tales, they were excited to meet her. She soon made her grand entrance into the waiting room and didn't disappoint! Laika emerged with a less-swollen head, bright eyes and buzzing tail, just like the pitty that I left earlier in the afternoon. The couple petted her a bit as she tried to give me a million kisses. We were both happy to be reunited!
Soon we were on our way home and she was fast asleep in the car. It was a complete relief that it was nothing serious and she woke up the next day a little groggy, but ready for breakfast like usual! I am glad that my roommate had told me when he did, because this could have very well been a more serious situation. Still, I wondered what could have possibly caused the allergic reaction. Laika wasn't necessarily one to eat unknown things outside. A few months later, she and I were at the regular vet for a check-up and I mentioned the episode. Apparently, animals that eat stinkbugs sometimes end up with acute allergic reactions like Laika...so, maybe that was the answer? I am still not sure, but it seemed plausible. As a pup, I did catch Laika trying to munch one, but I don't think she actually ate it that time. Maybe she enjoyed success during the afternoon I was away! Either way, the image of her swollen head is forever etched into my mind as something comically tragic...but with an ending of tail-wags and kisses that Laika was known for delivering.
Close-up of Laika's (unswollen) face!
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