As many of you know, we adopted this little guy a little over a week ago...
(his adoption photo)
(hanging out with Kelt)
he was a really sweet pup who knew how to sit and play fetch. He loved pig ears, his angry birds toy, and napping...
on Friday the 11th, he started getting sick. He was throwing up, had diarrhea, and was somewhat lethargic...
he seemed to be doing better on Saturday, so we thought his tummy was just adjusting to his new kibble. By Sunday we knew something was not right. He was acting exhausted and wouldn't eat or drink anything. We took him to the vet, where he tested positive for parvo. He was given a 50/50 shot of surviving the virus. We chose to take him home and care for him because in addition to being very expensive, we didn't want to leave him alone at the vet where he would be kenneled and left alone at night.
I contacted the woman from the HART organization where we adopted him to let her know about his diagnosis. Parvo is extremely contagious and her other dogs might have been exposed. She asked if she could come over with some additional medication. We said yes, and she brought over penicillin injections to be given twice a day and a bag of intravenous fluids to be given at least every four hours as his body would absorb it. We immediately began treatment and that night he was sitting up when I would get up to check on him. We had really high hopes he was going to be just fine.
Monday was, again, worse. He was extremely lethargic, wouldn't eat, wouldn't drink, and seemed to be having difficulty swallowing the dog food I was trying to give him through a syringe. He spent most of the day wrapped up in a blanket or towel on my lap...
Kelt got home and we had dinner. 8 wandered over to his bed, which was in an open kennel. About an hour later, I went to check on him and give him more fluid and to try to give him some more food in the syringe. I found him collapsed half way out of his kennel. I knew there was something wrong immediately by the way he was lying. I picked him up, and he was completely limp, but still breathing. I called for Kelt and we sat together, holding him. About half an hour later he gave two small jerks, and then he was gone.
I cried all night and most of the next day. I wish I could go back and take his pain away. I wish I had held him all night on Sunday. I wish I could have done more for him. He was a great dog and even though he was only with us for one week, he made a permanent home in our hearts. We will miss him so much, but we try to remember that he's happy where he is now and that we'll see him again someday...
