The tiny seed moves slowly, relentlessly. With every breath, with every movement, it snuggles deeper into the fur as it inches forward, always seeking, never stopping. \u00a0Finally it reaches flesh and the journey continues, piercing tender skin, and now it’s in the tissues, sliding between layers of muscle, inexorably toward the heart of the animal.<\/p>\n

This is a foxtail. It’s hard to believe this sharp pointed seed with its barbed tail is not a malevolent intelligent being whose sole objective is to seek and kill.<\/p>\n

My beautiful collie Mr. Chadwick, with his heavy flowing coat, was a victim of a foxtail. Luckily, I discovered the lump on his chest. \u00a0Seeing the inverted seeping entrance wound sent us straight to our vet and emergency surgery. The foxtail they found had journeyed within a quarter-inch of entering his heart muscle. That foxtail almost killed the best dog ever.<\/p>\n

Foxtails are everywhere now.\u00a0I just found one on my beagle that had already entered her skin, aiming straight for her throat. We live in the city\u2014no weeds or foxtails anywhere in our manicured lawns and gardens\u2014and yet, there it was. Sneaky, determined, mindless.<\/p>\n

Foxtails get into your pet’s ears\u2014both dogs and<\/em> cats. If not discovered, the seed burrows along the ear canal, causing deafness before entering the brain. A good sniff can suck one into a dog\u2019s nose to begin its relentless journey, again straight to the brain. \u00a0Even when the organ it enters is not vital, infection ensues. When it enters the foot, finding the delicate tissues between the pads, the seed can cause lameness and infection. And when it enters the eye, surgery may be required before blindness and infection result.<\/p>\n

Check your pet frequently\u2014around the eyes, ears, and feet, running your hands over her body\u2014searching for the tell-tale sharp talons of this frightful seed. And remember, this malevolent threat can be anywhere; it attaches to your clothes, sticks in your socks, gets into your shoes\u2014so check those as well. We must be constantly vigilant for our beloved pets.
\n

About the Author
\nJeremy Lindston Robinson<\/strong>, our Vice President<\/em><\/div>\n

Photo Credit:\u00a0Adobe Pet Hospital<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n

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The tiny seed moves slowly, relentlessly. With every breath, with every movement, it snuggles deeper into the fur as it inches forward, always seeking, never stopping. \u00a0Finally it reaches flesh and the journey continues, piercing tender skin, and now it’s…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":4170,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[30],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.pafriends.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4157"}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.pafriends.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.pafriends.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.pafriends.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.pafriends.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=4157"}],"version-history":[{"count":9,"href":"http:\/\/www.pafriends.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4157\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":4173,"href":"http:\/\/www.pafriends.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/4157\/revisions\/4173"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.pafriends.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4170"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.pafriends.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=4157"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.pafriends.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=4157"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.pafriends.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=4157"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}