Coco, Extra Puff

For a few bewildered moments last night, we wondered what an anaphylactic shellfish allergy would look like in a dog. We had eaten king crab legs for dinner ($6.99/lb at Fresh Approach in case you’re interested) and Coco seemed to be reacting to her share of the scraps. You see, the dogs always get at least some of whatever we eat.

Coco started to look crazy-weird. Her cheeks puffed up like rising pizza dough and her eyes became sunken and evil-looking. She began to take on the visage of Godzilla in the first movie. And then the itching started.

We were understandably concerned. I took off her collar just in case her throat needed room to inflate. But as we watched her it became evident that a food allergy would probably not manifest itself so locally, and would likely go after her throat in some way. And her puffiness was asymmetrical, indicating some local cause.

Bee sting.

We ate dinner outdoors and there were dozens of bees flying around. Coco loves to eat bugs. Putting these facts all together did not take Sherlock Holmes. It didn't even take John Holmes for that matter. Coco was stung by a bee on the snout. Jake had been stung a couple years ago and that had also started a major puff-fest.

So we gave Coco some allergy meds (for humans, low dose) and in the morning she woke up much better. She's still swollen on one side, but the evil visage is leaving and our cute little fuzzy Coco Puff is returning. More Coco, less puff.