A dog in Jupiter Farms, Florida, was in a lot of distress after coming into contact with a puss caterpillar.
As they say, big surprises come in small packages; a tiny puss caterpillar gave an 83-pound dog named Beethoven a big stingy surprise when he got exposed to it while playing in the grass. The caterpillar, which is soft and fuzzy, is only one inch in length but has numerous quills on its body which can deliver a venomous sting.
The puss caterpillars usually like to live in oak and elm trees. A sting by a bee or a wasp usually takes an hour to get mitigated, but with the puss caterpillar, the pain can be expected to last for more than eight hours.
The Bouvier Terrier mix was playing in the grass, unaware of the presence of a puss caterpillar there. The dog exposed his face to the caterpillar while rolling on the ground and got stung.
The venom transferred by the sting affected the face of the dog, causing a blistered eye appearing puffy red. The dog was immediately taken to the vet by the owner Jennifer Keayes.
Beethoven’s eyes were flushed after he got sedated. The dog had to be kept at the clinic for a day so that his breathing could be monitored. The dog also received wound care, eye drops, and heavy steroids during his stay a the clinic.
The vets are of the view that when a dog gets such a severe sting, he should be immediately rushed to the veterinary clinics.
Beethoven took many weeks to recover from his ordeal. Jennifer said that the dog had a milky discharge from his eyes for many days before he finally recovered, and his wounds got fully healed.
Jennifer said that she was very apprehensive that her dog might lose his eye, but she was glad that nothing of that sort happened.
Jennifer wants other dog owners to be wary that they might have puss caterpillars in their yards.
Image source: WPEC via CBS12
