Parvo, what a horrible disease

Over the Labor day weekend we acquired a new puppy. A sweet little female beagle who has the saddest eyes I have ever seen. We got her on Sunday. Monday, very late in the night, or rather very early in the morning, she had an accident on the bathroom floor, and I noticed blood in her stool, which was still semi solid. She had been going potty outside, so I'm thanking my lucky stars that she has this accident, otherwise I might not have known until much later that there was a problem. My puppy is almost 5 months old. I was told that the reason the previous owners had to find a new home for her was because there was a lot of rough play between her and their other dog. Crappy reason I thought, but we were looking for a dog that didn't get too big because our house is small and we already have a female black lab at home, and the new family member was to keep the lab (who suffers from extreme separation anxiety)company, and hopefully occupied. I was assured by the mutual friend that she did come from a good home, with responsible owners. In responsible owners, I assume that vaccinations are up to date and the puppy is in good health. WRONG! In fact, I found out 2 days after she went into the hospital, that the other dog in the house DIED THE DAY I TOOK THE PUPPY! More than likely of Parvo. :x
Of course after the bloody stool I was on the phone to my vet first thing on Tuesday morning. I made an appointment to go in after work, already suspecting Parvo. My worst fears were confirmed a few minutes after I got there. My daughter (11) was crushed as was I. We got really attached, really quick. :cry:

She was put into the hospital that night, and we had to just wait to see what would happen. I adore our vet, and I knew that she was in good hands. He quoted me the price right up front. He also told me that the cost would only apply to the first 5 days, treatment after 5 days is no cost to prevent animals going home too early because owners can't affort to keep animals in too long (wonderful concept, wish all vets did that!)

My puppy was in for 11 days, we got to bring her home last night. She was still vomiting, and a little bit of blood still in her stool, but the doctor sent me home with anti-nausea pills, and flagyl. I was worried about bringing her home, but the doctor said I would be fine, and so would she.
He sent me home with ID (bland doggy food) and said she needed to eat that, and not her regular puppy food for a couple of weeks.

I ended up having to take her back to the vet today. She wasn't eating. She was drinking water, and she was going potty, still diahreah, and there was still blood in it. They checked her out, and got her to eat some food, and let me decide whether to put her back in. I decided to bring her home. They sent me home with an IV bag spiked with more antibiotics, and anti-nausea medication, and instructions on doing subcutaneous fluid injection. I have to do this every 24 hours for the next 5 days. They also gave me a prescription for Tamiflu. The vet world is discovering that this medication is quite helpful in treating Parvo. I got the prescription filled at the local pharmacy and started giving it to my puppy this evening.

I'm trying to hold out hope that she's going to pull through this, but hope is wearing thin. I just don't think she's going to make it. Her gums are very pale, there is still blood her her stool, she's not eating for me, she's an absolute bag of bones. I'm so broken hearted because I know that I'm going to have to make a decision soon to have her put down. I don't want to do this to my little girl, she's so full of hope, and she adores this puppy and the puppy adores her. She follows her everywhere, and if for some reason she can't follow her, she just sits at the door she went out, and cries. It's so sweet. But since all of this started I have sunk well over $600.00 into treatment, including the $51.00 for the Tamiflu. And lets keep in mind that I had the puppy for 2 days before she went into the hospital. Not that length of time dilutes the love we have for her, and I would never allow a dog in my possession suffer such a horrible death.

The vet said she's a fighter, and now it's up to her to keep fighting to get through this. Has anyone else out there been through this and thought that all hope was gone?? Please someone, give me some encouragement, some home care things I can do to get her to eat for me, anything and everything will be appreciated.

 

So sad. I was just curious, did your vet, by any chance do a fecal sample? Very often there is an intestinal parasite that will hinder the recovery, something like coccidia, just in itself can be fatal in puppies, would be worth checking it out if it hasnt already been done.

It seems as though your doing as much as you can, obviously go with the instructions your vet has given you but just a couple of things I can think of, make sure body temperature is good, normal is 99.5-102.5 F (although if there is a lot of diarrhea still any stimulation...like taking a temp, recatally could give the pup an urge to poop again which you want to avoid, but you can check the groin area....inside uppper rear legs, check the inside flap of the ears, the pads, they should be warm, if the body temp drops youll notice the gums can get very pale.
As for food, there are things like chicken or turkey baby food (no onions) warmed up a little in the microwave and if you start off with literally 1 teaspoon every 20 minutes....if after an hour or so there hasw been no vomiting then increase to 2 teaspoons. The idea is to get as much in without the pup vomiting. Other things you can use is just something like chicken broth, something mushy/liquidy, dont try any hard food initially. Give Pedialyte to drink instead of water....if the pup stresses out over the Pedialyte and wont take it but is okay with the water then just give that especially as your giving the SQ fluids.
Another thing....and this is just a personal opinion.... is pets can become very 'depressed ' whent theyve been ill for a long time, its like they lose hope, so plenty of TLC (I imagine your already doing that though), but I spend a lot of time talking to them, petting them, if they can be carried around (if small enough) I have done things like take them outside to smell the grass, the flowers or 'feel the sun', nothing major just calm and relaxing....I know that might sound a little over the top but sometimes you can see their eyes suddenly get a little bright, or their ears that they havent had the strength to lift up for a while will siddenly lift a little.

 

I don't understand this.
Several years back I had a Black Lab/Geman Shepard mix that got sick the day I took him home from the dog pound. I knew right away what it was because my room mates Rotty had gone through the same thing. We took him straight to the vet, and they recommended putting the dog down because Parvo was so bad and at the time mortality was 80%. I refused and went to a different vet they went to work on the dog right away and called me I checked on him every day and he recoverd nicely. I asked when he could come home but they said "He would not be leaving until he was recoverd and not exihbiting any more signs of infection"
I got him back after 7 day and he was eating solid food with no vomiting or loose stools.
I had a similar experiance with a Staffordshire (Pepsi) puppy a few years later, she was a tougher case and took 14 days but she survived and is still going very strong at 13 years old. But they do not allow them to go home sick where I am.
Believe my I understand the cost of leaving a dog in the vets but why would they send your pup home still sick?

 

My puppy just recovered from parvo but she went through it so fast... she was vaccinated for it but had missed one shot but the vaccine is what saved her life. She is about 4 1/2 months old and she got it about 2 weeks ago and she is doing great. She was also put on ID, only for 4 days, but her parvo was never bad enough that she needed an IV. She was only in the vet for 3 days/2 nights. Since you said your puppy was in the vet for 11 days I am really surprised she is still alive. Most pups die within 48-72 hours if they aren't treated enough. I really do hope she pulls through... keep us updated... GOOD LUCK with your baby... I send my love

Ashley

 

Im not saying this applies to lorelei but I can say that in general the way it works is this, the hospital will usually keep the pup (money is a factor sometimes) until the pup is eating at least small bites of food and keeping it down (most vets Ive worked with will keep a pup for an additional day or 2 if the money is a problem).
What Ive seen in some cases is the puppy goes home, starts to feel a little better or maybe just gets a littel over-excited, overdoes it and goes downhill again.
What I usually tell people is not to allow the pup to overdo it for about the first week home, often when there are young children at home they get their puppy back and the first thing they want to do is play ball or chase each other around, the pup, feeling a little better obliges but they really need to take it easy.....kind of like....say your child has a bad dose of flu, then they get that one day were they are feeling better, go running around and playing...and then end up in bed again for another few days, adults too, we get sick, take a day or 2 off work, by day 3 were feeling better, go back to work and by the time we get home we feel twice as bad as when we first got sick.
Another reason is sometimes the owner cannot be with the pup all day and night, the pup may need that small bite of food every 2 or 3 hours, but instead has to wait for 8 hours....that can cause it to go downhill again. Like I said Im not saying this is the case with lorelei, just saying there are quite a few reasons why a dog may be well enough to go home but then relapse, not just with parvo but other illnesses also.

 

Sorry I haven't answered any questions, things here have been kind of busy for us.

Each new day brings little improvements in Jenni. She is now at the end of day 3 and no vomiting. The most exciting development was that last night, she had an accident on my bedroom floor. I was disheartened to see that it was runny, but the silver lining in that cloud was that when I cleaned it up, it was just brown doggy poo, no blood!!

I gave up on ID a few days ago, she refuses to eat it. On Sunday, she had a buffet sitting in front of her. I tried some baby food, no way. Scrambled egg, yuck. I tried yogurt, still no joy. I finally tried boiled ground beef, bingo. She ate some of that, and ended up eating too much, and yacked most of it back up. A little while later, I tried a little more on her, she ate it and kept it down. I kept giving her tiny handfuls and she took it all, and kept it all!! Which is good because this dog is a bag of bones, according to the scale, she's only lost a little over 3 pounds, but she's even lost weight in her head, she can almost wipe her nose with her ears, if she wanted to.

I talked to her vet again tonight and he said I could also try some animal formula on her, only a little at a time to see how she tolerates it. She is drinking plenty of water which means no more subQ injections (whew).

Tonight when we came home she barked when the door opened, which indicates alertness.

I just wanted to give a quick update on her progress, and now it's time to go follow her around the yard with a flash light and bleach bottle and then bed time for me. I can't wait to say that I think she's finally out of the woods. Thanks everyone, reading other posts of survivors has helped a great deal to give me hope for the girl. I'll post pictures of my skinny little beagle and healty black-lab soon, well when I figure out how to do it anyhow.

 

Great news! I hope she continues to improve.

 

I'm leaving in a little while to put Jenni down today. I am so heartbroken. I really thought she would pull through this, I've done everything I can think of to get this little girl to make it, and I just don't have anything else to try. Say some prayers for me and my daughter if you have any extras.

Lorelei

 

Oh no! What happened!???!!

 

Oh no!! I'm so sorry!! :cry:

 

I miss Jenni so much. I brought her home and buried her under a tree in the corner of our yard. We have a very large front and back yard (1 1/2 acres, pretty big for a city lot). Any time we want to visit, she's close by. My daughter and I are absolutely devastated. I really thought at the front of my mind,she would get through this but I think the back of my mind never let me get my hope up too high. Her first week home we just made her take it very easy. She was allowed to get up and go outside to do her nature calls, but we kept Tori (the Lab) inside so that there would be no temptation to run and play. But the simple truth was, she was still doing all the basic dog things, all except eating.

She wanted to live, she wanted it so badly, I could see it in her sad little eyes everytime I looked at her. How it must have distressed her so to see the worry in my eyes when she looked at me. We tried everything trying to get her to eat, and she would only take bites here and there, but nothing ever of real sustinence. At first I understood that her stomach and everything else were irritated, and I kept ever in mind that I don't really feel like eating when I've spent a few days throwing up everything I took in. I just kept hoping that today would be the day when the hunger mechanism would kick in and she would devour everything I threw at her, but that day just didn't come. Even as late as Saturday night I thought she might be turning the corner. Sunday morning when I got up, I went to see her first thing. I picked her up and she was just so weak. She still got up and followed me to the kitchen, but she was starting to stumble and I just couldn't let her go on anymore. I knew that when it was time, she would tell me. I had that puppy for exactly 21 days, more than half of those days were spent in the hospital, and the impact she had on our lives is immeasurable. I feel like I've lost a child. I stayed with her during the whole euthanasia process. I didn't know if I would have the strength to do it. I just kept thinking that if it was I who was on my death-bed, that little dog wouldn't think twice of climbing up there with me while I were breathing my last, and I couldn't bear the thought of not being with her while she breathed hers. She went so peacefully, no fighting, no sounds, it was almost like she was thanking me for letting her go. I felt her last breath on my cheek. The doctor checked her heart and said she's gone. The vet tech in the room with us was crying. I laid her down on the table and wrapped her in her blanket and said, Come on Jenni, lets go home. When I got her home her grave was ready, but I just couldn't bring myself to let her go yet. I sat in the chair and just rocked her and held her. The little kids on our street came to say good bye, my best friend was there and finally we moved to the back yard for the hard part, letting go of the physical.

Some of you may not like me for saying this. I'm not a dog person. I'm more of a cat person. I adopted Tori 2 years ago this month because my daughter was driving me nuts for a dog. So weighing carefully the committment, I decided to bring a dog into our lives. Please don't get me wrong, I love Tori, and based on the fits that she throws when I leave the house, I know that she loves me. But if I had to give Tori up, I would certainly be sad, but I would get over it. But then sweet little Jenni came along, and somehow that wonderful little puppy made me a dog person. I treasure Tori more, now that I know how fragile life is. I never in my life thought I could hurt as badly as I do over an animal. I know that her time with us was short, but she is as grateful to us as we are grateful to her. Had I known she was sick I would not have taken her, and she would have died a horrible death, and I saved her from that. She died anyway, but I think she was comfortable.

I have an appointment with an attorney tomorrow. I'm not a litigious (sp?) person at all. I've had a couple of opportunities to sue for damages, but chose to take the high road. Had my Jenni survived this horrible ordeal, I would wager that I would once again find myself taking the high road and remind myself that it was only money that I've spent to get her well and the end result is a wonderful companion. However, sweet Jenni did not survive and these people who shoved a sick dog off on me because they didn't want to deal with it need to answer for it. If it hadn't been for the other dog in the house dying on the day I took Jenni into my home, I would believe them when they said they had no idea. But the simple fact of the matter is, they had two dogs, neither of which were vaccinated, and that is just plain irresponsible, and cruel when you get down to it.

And in the end, it's not about the money (although I am suing to recoup some of my loss) it's about the fact that I had to go gather my little girl up out of the muddy spot, in the pouring rain this morning because she was outside mouring the loss of her friend. It's because on Sunday afternoon I was driving down my street, looking in my rearview mirror, at that helpless little girl standing at the end of our driveway watching me drive away knowing that when I came back her Jenni was not going to the living breathing creature that she adored. It's because my 11 year old daughter had to learn a hard truth about life and death, and I as her mother, think she is far too young for such a lesson.

I can no longer see to say all I want to say, so I have to stop.

Jenni, I know that you are in heaven running and playing, just like you wanted to do here on earth, and I know you are in a better place than we are and forgive us for being the selfish people that we are in wanting you to be here with us. I'll never forget your soft wet and cold nose, I'll never forget your floppy silky ears. Wait for me at Rainbow Bridge. I love you, and I'll never, ever forget you.

 

I am so sorry for your loss. I don't know what else to say - there just aren't any words. :cry:

Sometimes this poem helps me:

 

Oh my...HUGS to you and your family. :cry: :cry: :cry: I am so sorry for your loss.