My friends German Shepard

Question
Dear Patti,

I am watching a friend's 15 month old German Shepherds, one male and one female. Yesterday, I began to smell a not so pleasant odor in the house after the dogs returned from their morning in the yard. The yard is equipped with invisible fencing, so they usually are out for a couple of hours with little supervision. Back to the odor. Early in the evening, I was sitting out by the pool and noticed that Bear's coat was matted and a dark brown color substance was visible on his neck. When I took a closer look, I could see that his neck was raw near the fur that matted. I called the owners in Florida and asked where the dog shampoo was, and told them what I had found on Bear. He let me wash his chest area, but did not let me get near the area where it appeared to be raw. He did, however eat his dinner and seemed fine the rest of the evening. I woke up around 1:30AM from a sound sleep and thought I would check on him. When I did, he was wide awake and seemed not to be able to lay completely down, meaning his head and front shoulders were upright. He was also breathing rapidly and panting as well. I got him some water and sat by him, rubbing his head and ears, and he seemed to begin to relax just a bit, but when I stopped caressing his coat and lightly scratching his nose, he would immediately sit back up. It is now 4:50AM and I do not know where the nearest Veterinarian is located. Does his condition sound as though he needs emergency care? He has had his full series of rabies shots, so what would you recommend for me to do for him in the immediate future?

Sincerely.

Jim S.

Answer
Hi Jim,

I'm so sorry that I was unable to respond to your message earlier!

Is Bear still acting distressed? If you need an off hour veterinarian, look in your yellow pages for an emergency vet clinic. Also, many animal hospitals have a vet on call over night and over holidays. Call the dog's regular vet to see if there is an answering service that can contact a doctor for you, or if they have instructions for who to contact in an emergency when their office is closed.

You can also do a google web search to find an emergency animal hospital in your area.

Even though Bear is current on his inoculations, that isn't a guarantee against disease. No vaccine offers 100% protection, and prompt medical care is needed if rabies is suspected.

Hopefully, Bear is doing much better by now!

-Patti