Straydog UPDATE posted TUESDAY 3/25/03 at ~9:00 p.m. CT

Pat Arnold's Daily Dog Log

TUESDAY MARCH 25 2003

Tiny Puppy Rex, one of Rosie's sons, is very sick

      This has been a really bad day all the way around. One of Rosie's five sons, little Rex, was very sick this morning. I discovered the little tyke wasn't feeling well when I went to feed Rosie and her puppies at 5:00 a.m.

      Seven of Rosie's kids were waiting by their kennel gate, all lined up in a row with Rosie at the head of the line, as I carried their bowls of food to them, but the eighth little fellow, Rex, was nowhere to be seen. To have him not be waiting with his siblings and mom at breakfast time was a clear indication that something was certainly wrong with the tiny puppy.

      I put the bowls of food down for Rosie and the other puppies and then went to their shelter, which was filled with hay. There in the middle of the hay was the tiny pup, curled up shivering. I crawled in, scooped him up and brought him in the house. The poor little puppy couldn't stop shivering so I wrapped him in big towel (warmed by the clothes dryer) and held him close to me until the shivering stopped.

Rex could have Parvo

      It's reason enough to be concerned when a five-week-old puppy is sick (lots of puppies get sick, but usually not seriously), but what made me really worried was that one of our caregivers had just found out yesterday that a little stray dog she had found recently, had been diagnosed with Parvo virus, and the caregiver called me yesterday afternoon to let us know. This means that the dog was shedding the virus before the caregiver realized the dog was really sick, and what makes us so concerned now is that the caregiver had been helping to care for Rosie and the eight little puppies during the time her dog, unbeknownst to her, was coming down with Parvo--which could have spread the dreaded disease to Rosie's pups.

I called Dr. Morton, and he wanted me to bring Rex to the clinic

      During my early "wake-up call" to Dr. Morton, he said he felt that the pup would be alright for a little while and suggested I meet him at the clinic at eight o'clock.

      Since I now had appointed myself to be the only caregiver to enter Rosie's kennel, the clean-up of the kennel lay on my shoulders! While little Rex was snuggled beneath several warm towels in the crate in the van (parked right next to Rosie's kennel), I had just enough time to totally clean out Rosie's kennel, which included removing all the hay in the dog house (four big black trash bags full), refilling it with fresh hay, cleaning up all the poopies (luckily there was no diarrhea anywhere) and filled all bowls with fresh water.

Another pup looks sick

      While I was doing this cleanup, I noticed that Puppy Star seemed much too quiet too, so when it was time for me to leave with Rex, Star went with us.

Parvo test comes out negative

      Rex was by far the sickest puppy, and because he did vomit just before we left for the clinic, and was so lethargic, and did not want to eat, the doctor did a parvo test, which came out negative. BUT, the doctor added, sometimes the test will give false readings, so for now we'll assume he has an intestinal bacteria. All other tests came out ok. If Rex gets worse, we'll test for Parvo again, said the doctor.

      Dr. Morton gave both Rex and Star subcutaneous fluids (which they didn't like) and another fluid to help boost their immune systems, three other medications, all of which I know well, because I've given them before to other tiny puppies with sick tummies, and home we came, with the doctor's advice to keep a close watch on Rex (which is the usual procedure around here when any dog or pup is sick).

Rex will stay in the house until he is better

      The little fellow slept soundly for hours. I woke him to give him his medications and he drank a little, and when he started having diarrhea, I called the doctor again. His advice was to give Rex another few hours to see how he does.

By mid-afternoon Rex was feeling a little better

      Rex woke up by himself at three o'clock this afternoon wagging his tail. He ate a little soupy food I fixed for him, drank a little water and I tried to do some office work with him snuggled in my arms (not an easy thing to do).

Rex starts howling for his family

      He napped again, had his medicine, and by 6:00 p.m. he seemed to be feeling better and began howling for his family! The doctor called to check on Rex and heard the howling in the background. Dr. Morton thought it would be okay to bring Sister Star inside to keep Rex company for the night.

Sister Star comes in to spend the night with Rex

      As soon as Rex's little sister, Star, joined him, he quieted right down. The two of them tussled a little bit before climbing into their little bed (hopefully for the entire night!) The fact that Rex played a little with his sister is also a good sign.

It's Disinfectant City around here now!

      Of course our caregiver felt terrible for possibly having exposed the puppies here to Parvo, but she didn't know. Until we find out what Rex has, I'll be the only one going into Rosie and the puppies' kennel. The caregiver with the sick puppy at home will deal only with the older pups who have had all of their vaccinations, and she doesn't mind a bit about the strict disinfecting procedures she'll need to go through even for these duties--change of clothes and shoes when here, etc. This caregiver is a wonderful person and cares a great deal about the welfare of all of the dogs and puppies here (as well as all dogs in general).

      A very important lesson was learned by all of us today. If any of our employees take in a stray, they need to be sure to notify us that they have the new dog (or pup) so that their duties here will not involve the care of any of the puppies we already have here. Also, every employee must now bring us their vet records showing that the dogs and pups they have are up to date on all vaccinations. Hopefully these procedures will eliminate any spreading of disease at out shelter.