My Poor Dog!!!

Tiki has been acting a bit odd for the last several weeks.  She's been smacking her mouth, as though it's very dry, and occasionally making little gagging motions.  She's also been whiny sometimes.  Whining a bit as she lays down.  She has epilepsy and arthritis so we figured it was her meds or something that were causing these symptoms. 

In the last 10 days or so, we've suddenly noticed her breath smelling AWFUL.  I mean, it's never been great.  She's a dog, after all.  But lately, it's been something that you can smell from 10 feet away.  That's not normal.  So I called the doctor.  "Bring her in right away," they said.  "A dramatic change in breath can be an indicator of some pretty serious conditions."

So I brought her in, and the asked me as many questions as they could.  I've also recently changed Tiki's diet, and they said that might be it.  The doctor then went to examine her, checking out her teeth, and then opening the mouth a bit wider.

"She has a stick caught in her throat."

!!!!!

The poor thing has had a 2" long, 1/8" diameter twig wedged across the roof of her mouth for God knows how long.  The smell?  It was the smell of the horrible infection raging in her mouth. 

I feel just awful that I didn't notice it there.  But they got the stick out, and she's on the mend.