This is Lucky-Cash, or Cash as we call him! Our sweet little German Shepard/Lab mix, named after the one and only Johnny Cash. This was taken the day I picked him up from the "rescue" where I got him.
This is Cash just 2 days later. Official diagnoses- Parvovirus. The deadliest disease a puppy can have. Survival rate of only 10% in bad cases.To read about this horrible disease, go here
I picked him up on a Monday, and by Friday we didn't think he was going to make it at all. He was vomiting all day and all night, not touching his food or water, bloody diarrhea, and all he did all day was sleep.
Most people probably would have put him down. Hospitalization would have been well over a thousand dollars, and there was no guarantee that he would make it, so why bother, right? We couldn't do that to him. He was such a good boy and already a part of our family. Practically completely housebroken...Even with being so sick, he still always whined to let us know when he needed to go out to potty.
Thank God we have an amazing vet who isn't a money-hungry, greedy SOB. He gave us options. First option was hospitalization. Money was no object to save this little guy, but we wanted to see if there were other options first. He suggested that we do everything they would do at the hospital, at home ourselves. AKA...ME doing it all by myself while caring for a 6 month old as
well. It would be an extreme amount of work, but he had faith in me, and I had faith in myself.
So they sent us home with bags of fluid, and all the instruments I would need to administer sub-q fluids. I also had to give anti-nausea injections, an antibiotic, a dewormer, and an antacid. Instructions were to let him rest all day, and only up and about to potty. Also, to give him raw egg through a dropper to help keep his protein up. And lots and lots of cuddling. Thank goodness Parvo isn't contagious to humans! If he didn't respond well to the treatment at home, we had a hospitalization plan in place. The vet said they always get worse before they get better, so we should expect to see a big decline in his health. But if we could get him through it, he should be able to beat this.
By Friday night, we seriously didn't think he was going to make it. It was the decline the vet was talking about. It took a lot of sleepless nights, a lot of bite marks, a lot of bleaching, a lot of crate cleaning, a lot of being covered in vomit and diarrhea. It brought me back to the days of caring for my Dad towards the end of his life. But I knew I needed to do it. And I did do it.
Most people probably would have put him down. Hospitalization would have been well over a thousand dollars, and there was no guarantee that he would make it, so why bother, right? We couldn't do that to him. He was such a good boy and already a part of our family. Practically completely housebroken...Even with being so sick, he still always whined to let us know when he needed to go out to potty.
Thank God we have an amazing vet who isn't a money-hungry, greedy SOB. He gave us options. First option was hospitalization. Money was no object to save this little guy, but we wanted to see if there were other options first. He suggested that we do everything they would do at the hospital, at home ourselves. AKA...ME doing it all by myself while caring for a 6 month old as
well. It would be an extreme amount of work, but he had faith in me, and I had faith in myself.
So they sent us home with bags of fluid, and all the instruments I would need to administer sub-q fluids. I also had to give anti-nausea injections, an antibiotic, a dewormer, and an antacid. Instructions were to let him rest all day, and only up and about to potty. Also, to give him raw egg through a dropper to help keep his protein up. And lots and lots of cuddling. Thank goodness Parvo isn't contagious to humans! If he didn't respond well to the treatment at home, we had a hospitalization plan in place. The vet said they always get worse before they get better, so we should expect to see a big decline in his health. But if we could get him through it, he should be able to beat this.
By Friday night, we seriously didn't think he was going to make it. It was the decline the vet was talking about. It took a lot of sleepless nights, a lot of bite marks, a lot of bleaching, a lot of crate cleaning, a lot of being covered in vomit and diarrhea. It brought me back to the days of caring for my Dad towards the end of his life. But I knew I needed to do it. And I did do it.
Today, Cash, or Lucky Cash as we now call him, is alive and well. He is acting like a normal puppy. Beginning to eat again (bland foods like chicken and rice, cottage cheese, bread, etc...) drinking on his own, jumping around and playing, no vomiting, and solid stools. He not only beat Parvo, he kicked its ass and took its name!
And he knows. I know he knows that we saved his life, because he is just the best dog ever. Never have I had an dog that loves to cuddle so much, and listens so well for only being 10 weeks. I just know he is going to be the most loyal dog in the world. He and Mackenzie already love each other. He is skin and bones right now. He only just started picking at his food on Sunday night. That was the first time he had eaten since the Thursday before. As of today though, he is gobbling up everything he sees. We have to fatten him up!
He will probably have problems with his digestive system for life. Antacids should take care of this though. There is nothing we wouldn't do for this little guy.
So that is his story! Stay tuned for more wonderful puppy adventures!!
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