by Sherry
(Eclectic, AL, USA)
Hi,
I really don’t have a specific question right now….. merely a request for my sick 9 week old Rottweiler pup, Angelika AKA: Angel. My dear husband got me the puppy I so badly wanted after losing my Rott Roc this past summer, for Christmas. I was so happy when he walked in the door, I cried…I am 48 and this is still hard for me to control when I am so happy. I really didn’t think we could afford it, but he did find a way.
Well, the problem started when one of my son’s brought over a neighbor’s puppy that they were caring for…. the next evening he called and told us about the puppy going down with Parvo. My heart sank. I had dealt with a very bad bout several years back that tore me apart…out of 4 pups under age 2, I was able to save 1. Those were some of the most horrible few weeks of my life and for those pups! I refused to have a puppy near our home for almost 2 years to make sure. Again, we seemed safe and had no problems…until this. Well, knowledge was my friend I hoped.
About 9 days later it started…she started throwing up..fear gripped my heart…I watched carefully, she threw up again after only a little water…it was happening. Really bad timing, we have all been sick and I have been very sick because of complicated respiratory problems anyway, but my pup was more important so in spite of fevers myself and needing to be in bed, I was up all night with her. I kept her warm (we had just been hit with an ice storm…no going anywhere at that time), gave her a little kaopectate I had on hand when she threw up and water a little at a time about every 30 minutes till about 3 am. At this time, Angelika let me know she wanted to go to bed…I picked her up gently and we went to bed to get a few hours of sleep. By 6 we were up and at it again. By 8 my husband was on the phone with a vet friend of his (wish that helped on the costs that are coming) because I had done enough research online to find out that because of her breed, she was even more susceptible than the breeds I had dealt with before…and I don’t do very well with losing.
Off to the vet by 9 and arrived by 10 (we live in the country). Angelika was still very attentive and doing remarkably well and even walking on her own, but I know too much and didn’t want to take any chances. That was yesterday morning and we are far from out of the woods even though the vet is even more hopeful than when we got there simply telling us statistics and yes even suggesting euthanization (hope that is spelled right). Again, I let them know I could not give up on her.
She has been on Antibiotics, IV and an anti-nausea med since about 12 hours after the first sign of onset that I could honestly tell (and I am very overly protective of little things…have raised many pups, cats, birds, raccoons, and even squirrels with much success among other things too. Even helped an owl get strong enough to go back to the wild once. Life is precious…including God’s little creatures. We really can’t afford the vet bill, but I just don’t see where we can’t afford not to incur it to give Angelika a fighting chance! Fortunately, the vet is willing to work with us on the final bill…
As it stands, she is still doing very well…still very responsive and alert and the signs are still mild according to the vet, compared to what I have seen. The vet says that the next couple of days will tell a lot and I know this all too well from experience. My only real question is…Will you please pray for little Angelika?
She is the most precious little girl with a great personality already showing. From the first night here she completely accepted our family and has never whined in loneliness. Overnight, she immediately decided this was home and has been our little princess. I don’t care who thinks it is silly to pray over an animal…honestly we are all God’s creatures and they deserve the prayers just as much, if not more at times, as people. I have been so careful for this not to happen again and now here I go again with such a precious part of our family and my dream dog. The picture isn’t the best but shows how quickly she became part of the family in only about 36 hours and wanted to help my grand-daughter’s open their present Christmas morning. We know she will love it here even more as she grows because we she will have access to 160 acres of land here to roam that our previous Rottweiler Roc loved so much too. And with the many other animals here, life will never be lonely… someone (mostly me) is always home to be a companion and love her.
Please keep Angelika in your prayers!
Hi Sherry
I’m so terribly sorry to read about what is happening with Angelika and I have just said a prayer for her, and will do so again tonight.
I’ve lost puppies to Parvo myself and know only too well how terrible this disease is, and how heartbreaking for the puppys’ mom, dad and others who love them.
However, it sounds as though you have caught this very early, and been very proactive in getting her help, and that is a big factor in giving a pup a decent chance at recovery. The rest is down to the puppy itself, and it also sounds as though she is holding her own pretty well so far.
Parvo in puppies usually progresses very fast and keeping them hydrated and giving antibiotics to treat secondary infection is vitally important, and so far you’ve managed to do that and hopefully it will make things easier. The first 7 – 10 days are the most critical stage, if a puppy survives that then chances are that they will recover – even though it takes quite a while for them to get over it.
I’m hoping and praying your little girl will be one of the lucky survivors, and I’m certain my Rottie-loving visitors will be doing the same. All the best.
For an update on Angelika’s recovery, see her back at home and on the mend here ….. Prayer Thanks From Angelika and Angelika On The Mend