Life's Bittersweet Surprises #2

Almost two weeks after Boomer was diagnosed with Parvo, we feared the worst about Rascal. Saturday morning, December 13th, we later realized, was when Rascal stopped eating. We attributed it at first to him being tired and full.

Then, after a not-quite-so-normal potty episode outside on Sunday morning, we decided we better take him to the Animal Emergency Clinic. Dear Hubby took Rascal this time. About 30 minutes after arriving there, the diagnosis was clear: Parvo! This diagnosis came just two weeks to the day from when Boomer was diagnosed! I still wasn't finished giving antibiotics to Boomer yet! But my technique had definitely improved!

Because Rascal has always been a bit smaller than Boomer, and because I really didn't think I could give him the fluid like we tried twice with Boomer, we decided to keep him at the AEC overnight, despite the extremely high quote from them.

I still feel this was the best decision. When DH picked Rascal up in the morning and brought him home until our regular vet opened, Rascal was already looking like he felt better. But we knew he wasn't "cured" yet, as there really isn't a cure for the Parvo virus; the puppies just need to be supported with fluids until their bodies can fight off the virus.

Back to our regular vet he went by 8:00. We seemed to have realized the symptoms of Parvo much sooner than we had with Boomer. Rascal's disposition was much friskier than Boomer's had been from the very beginning. Even the vet tech commented on this when we dropped Rascal off. In spite of his more frisky behavior, Racscal stayed at our regular vet until Wednesday afternoon/evening, which was the same length of stay that Boomer had. Add to Rascal's AEC visit, and these puppies have cost us almost an arm and a leg!

I asked myself, when Boomer had gotten sick, "Why us?" Dear Hubby replied to me "No, the real question is why Boomer? Why such a nasty virus for such a small guy? It happened to us, becuase God knew we would be strong enough to take care of them; smart enough to realize something wasn't right; and loving enough to know the best thing to do to help get him better."

This time around, I did ask "Why Rascal?" But this time I also knew the answer...because he had us to take care of him.

Rascal is finished with his antibiotics (note to others, don't try using peanut butter or cheese when giving dogs pills; just have them sit in front of you, their back to your chest, open their mouths with one hand, and shove the pill down their throats with the other hand, close their mouths and rub their throats for a few seconds for the pill to go down...just remember to check before you release them...sometimes they can be smarter than you and spit the pill out minutes later!).

He hasn't developed the bark that Boomer learned while at the vet. THANK GOODNESS! He's as playful and rascally as ever!

So glad to have both puppies back home and heathly! And the vet said the chance for them to get Parvo again...is slim to none. But let me tell you this...we'll definitely keep up with the Parvo vaccinations!

Life's Bittersweet Surprises

Less than a week after we brought home our two new puppies, we received some terrible news about one of them. Sunday afternoon, I took Boomer to the emergency vet hospital here at the local U. He had a severe loss of appetite and had had some nasty diarrhea. He also was quite lethargic. These were all abnormal, even in the short amount of time he had become a part of our lives.

One quick test, and the vet diagnosed Parvo. If you haven't heard of this, I'm not surprised. Though we have a 9 year old dog, and I had another dog before, I wasn't aware of this terrible virus. I do know, however, that our adult dogs had received this vaccination every year (it is in another vaccination that they receive yearly). If you are interested in learning about Parvo, all you have to do is Google it and you'll find everything and then some that you need to know.

I was devastated when the vet explained everything to me. How was I going to be able to tell Lego Boy and Princess Sunshine about their very sick Christmas present puppy? Why did God choose us? And even more so...why did God choose this puppy to get this virus?

I spoke with Dear Hubby over the phone and told him the news. He wanted to know our options so I put him on speaker phone so we could both listen to the vet. We decided to treat Boomer at home for Sunday afternoon/evening and call our regular vet on Monday morning. If you have ever had to give a pet shots, you will understand how difficult this was for us to do. We had to give Boomer injections of fluid that is normally given via I.V. The fluid is injected under his skin, but not into any veins. We also had two different oral medications (an antibiotic and an anti-nausea) to give him. As young as he is, he certainly did not like having anything stuck down his throat, though they were both covered in peanut butter.

DH started cleaning the kitchen floor with a strong bleach water mixture. Everything possible that Boomer had come into contact had to be cleaned or thrown out. Bleach is the ONLY thing that kills the Parvo virus.

We did the fluid injections twice...once Sunday evening and once Monday morning. The morning dosage should have been 100 cc's. This required at least two injections because the syringe only held 60 cc's. He was so sweet and yet so pitiful every time I had to stick him. I only succeeded in giving him 70 cc's. He squirmed too much and was always pulling away from the needle, even though DH was holding him in his arms. We couldn't stand the feeling that we were using him as a living pin cushion.

At 7:30 am, I called our regular vet. They would be able to care for him, but only after moving other animals around as Boomer needed to be quarantined due to the nature of the Parvo virus. We took both puppies in to see the vet around 10 am. Rascal weighed in around 5.25 lbs.; Boomer was about 6.8. From the beginning, Boomer was heavier and bigger than Rascal, but we estimated that he had lost up to 2 pounds from being sick. Rascal didn't exhibit any symptoms, so we were instructed to take him home and observe him for any behavior changes.

A vet tech donned a gown, mask, head covering and booties and carried Boomer in from the crate in our truck. She weighed Boomer and took him into quarantine. We waited in the lobby and then listened as she explained the treatments Boomer would receive. Then it was home...with only one sad, lonely puppy.

We kept a very close eye on Rascal and only let him out of his crate for limited minutes of play time, and only on the kitchen floor. He has continued to eat and drink. He wanders to the other crate (where he had been with his brother up until Sunday afternoon), looks inside it and then looks at us as if to say "Where is Boomer?" We have had a few moments of great concern with Rascal today. He had a few spots of blood in his stool, but that has appeared to clear up.

Today, Rascal is much happier than he had been yesterday. We had him out of the crate today for a wild romp between the family room and kitchen. He was running all around: crazy wild pup! Such a bittersweet moment.

I've been calling the vet every few hours during the day for updates on Boomer. Monday didn't have too many positive updates. He was "holding his own" but not much more than that, and he had vomited. Our vet, unfortunately, doesn't have 24 hour care, so he was all alone all night long. This bothered me and DH. I called for an update this morning. Boomer had done great last night: no diarrhea, no vomit, only urine in his crate, and he had left his I.V. alone! YEAH! The vet tech informed me they would try to get him to eat later in the morning. For my after lunch update, he still hadn't eaten. But for my 4:30 update, he had eaten (all by himself!!) between 1/3 and 1/2 jar of baby food. They would try again before they closed, but would use a syringe if necessary to get food down his throat.

Lego Boy has been saying prayers for Boomer. I don't know what he says when he prays like this, but it is so sweet/bittersweet to see my 7 year old pray. Last night at dinner, we asked him to say a prayer out loud. He chose "Angel of God my guardian dear. To whom God's love commits me here. Ever this day be at my side. To light, to guard, to rule and guide." This was one of my grandmother's favorite prayers. How bittersweet.

Come on Boomer! You can do it! You can beat this virus! Your brother needs you to! Your kids need you to! We need you to!