Friday Evening Update

The call from the vet this evening brought more good news! Brynn is very active, very vocal and very very hungry! She has been eating like a starved horse & kept all of her food down so far. She still has some diarrhea & a slight fever. They are going to try and start weaning her off the IV fluids tomorrow if the food and water stay put, then see if she can hold down her oral meds. The doctor was cautiously optimistic, she said that things could continue to improve or like many parvo cases things look good then decline before they recover. She said the fever and diarrhea are a bit concerning but expected at this point. It may be too soon to expect her to come home tomorrow evening and we may be looking at a Sunday or Monday discharge.

After we spoke to the vet we went to the hospital to visit Brynn. But were unable to see her. There was an emergency surgery and the dog was open on the table. Brynn is in the isolation room right off the room where they were trying to save this dog. They were unable to open the door or let us come into the back while the surgery was in progress. We were told we could wait for approx an hour, but John and I decided to come home. I was very disappointed.

Jazzmine the other pup I transported with Brynn is also improving. She is still hospitalized but her adoptive family was able to take her for a walk today! She should be discharged tomorrow sometime if she keeps improving as well. They are so happy!

Sadly the adopters for the remaining pups have backed out. The remaining three have never tested positive and are improving much each day. They did not need to be hospitalized. They are on a 10 day hold before they can be adopted out. Still their adoptive families have decided to pass on them. It is so sad...

Here are links to the three remaining puppies.

Tate

Tawna

The other Brynn (yes, I stole this name)

I have the Karen Child clinic this weekend with Beth...it is going to be great to get out there and spend some time doing what we both love. I am worried my mind will be preoccupied with Brynn. I cant wait until I get to hold her and play with her again!

Gosh it has been a roller coaster ride all week. *sigh*

Update & A New Name

This morning's update from the vet was encouraging!

Miss Puppy has been active and has been singing to the staff much of the early morning, she even chewed through her IV line twice during the night. She did have some more diarrhea and for some reason her temp went up in the night, but has come back down this morning. Since the vomiting has subsided they are going to try her on solid food today at noon. If she eats on her own it is excellent news, if she does not they will need to place an NG tube to trickle feed her. Then the wait to see if she holds it down.

Last night when we were visiting her Miss Puppy told us a few things. She said she was tired of being listed on the treatment board as "NOT NAMED YET". She told me her name is Brynn.

I told her I loved that name and from now on she will be known as Brynn, our Little Miracle.

Puppy Update

My husband wanted to see Brynn this evening when he got home from work. I had already been to the vet twice this afternoon. She is looking better than she did this morning. Her eyes are brighter, and not as sunken in as they were. She can also hold her head up longer.

The staff was very happy that they saw her standing on her back legs with her front paws on the cage window at one point. The diarrhea is subsiding and she has not had any more vomiting. If she does not vomit again they are going to try her on liquid food tomorrow at noon. Hopefully she will eat on her own, if not they will tube her with an NG tube. If she holds the food down and continues to improve she will be able to come home Saturday evening.

We are able to touch her, but we cannot hold her. When they brought her to me I reached over to hold her head and she saw me, then started talking. It was so adorable, she just went on and on telling me her troubles thru a series of wimpers, whines and sighs. She is a very expressive little girl.

We brought the camera along to take some pictures for her foster mother. John shot this picture when she was sharing her story. (click on the picture for a larger view)



Here are a few more









She is standing in her cage and is much more alert than earlier.



They have hooked her back up to the IV and she is now falling back asleep, already exhausted.







Thank you to all of you for your prayers, comments and support...it means more than I can say.

Bad News

I am an absolute wreck right now.

I did not make the decision to adopt the puppy lightly...or on the fly. This was something I thought & prayed about for weeks. I found the perfect fit for our pack and my heart in Miss Puppy (called Lyndi on the rescue site - so that is her name for now).

When I went to Moses Lake to meet Lyndi and pick up Jazzmine (who had already been adopted by another family) and Susie (another owner surrender) for transport back to Seattle area - I did so with the intent to adopt her ONLY if I knew in my heart it was the right thing. When I met her I knew I couldn't leave her behind. In 2 days I have fallen completely in love with this little sweetie - she really is an exceptional little girl.

The entire litter of pups were vaccinated on Monday. Tuesday morning Jazzmine was sick (fever, vomiting and diarrhea). The foster mother brought Jazzmine to the vet & was told it was an allergic reaction to the vaccinations. That same day when I met them Jazzmine and all the other puppies appeared to be healthy and happy.

On the drive back Jazzmine exploded a few times in the crate. She contined with vomiting/diarrhea when I got her home prior to being picked up for transport to her new home.

Lyndi was just fine. She was full of energy and happy. She ate her dinner and was drinking good. Wednesday morning Lyndi ate her breakfast & drank water, but by the afternoon she had vomited it all up. She nibbled on her dinner & continued to drink water but diarrhea had set in.

She vomited several times thru the night. I brought her to the vet immediately this morning. The vet ran a parvo test followed by with a CBC to confirm it was not the vaccinations she recieved on Monday giving a false positive. The parvo test was positive. She has parvo.

Even though she clearly felt weak she was a little fiesty tyke when they tried to take her blood - she didn't want anything to do with that and actually squirmed out of their grip twice. She even managed a couple growls and a bark. But that seemed to take most of what she had left right out of her, shortly after she just drifted off and I was not able to wake her up when they took her into the back.

The vet is being very cautious and guarded on his prognosis. He is going to call me in a couple of hours and let me know how she is doing. Then I will have updates every evening and every morning.

I am absolutely devasted.

I was so worried on the way back over the mountains with Lyndi and Jazzmine that something was seriously wrong - Jazzmine kept vomiting and they both were covered in diarhhea by the time we got home. Jazzmine vomited a few more times before she went home with Vicki. I knew it wasnt a vaccine reaction when Lyndi started to get sick last night.

Now I have to clean everything with bleach. Thankfully Lyndi was only ever in the kitchen/dining room, her crate in my bedroom (I carried her upstairs and put her right into her crate) and one section of our house with carpeting. The few times she was outside I know exactly where she had been.

I know the ratio of water:bleach is 10:1 to kill parvo. Can I use that on my grass too? Will it be sufficient? Should I maybe just burn that section of my grass?

The vet also told me it wont be a good idea to have a puppy at my house for at least a year. So that narrows down my ability to foster.

The vet bill is going to be phenomenal. Our vet is going to look into getting funds from the clinic to cover some of the bill. It isnt just Lyndi who is sick - the entire litter is sick now & will all need to be hospitalized.

This is so horrible. I feel terrible about this and am worried sick about my little girl. I am not sure I can make it through losing yet another dear animal. First Katie in November, Charlie last month and now this. I don't think my heart can take much more.

Please say a prayer for Lyndi.

Puppy Road Trip

Tuesday morning we piled into the car for a Road Trip to Moses Lake, WA to pick up two 8 wk old BC puppies and a 8 month old BC needing transport to our side of the mountains.

Being a good Dog lady I give the dogs the requisite potty break & chance to expore. We stopped at one of our favorite trails just before Snoqualmie Pass.

SNOW TIME! YEAH! We are FREE!



Snow, snow, snow, we love the snow!



Whoops, that's a bit deeper than we thought!


Okay enough with the camera Crazy Lady - just throw the ball already.



After having to drag Ranger out of a tree-well that was over his head, we all piled back into the car to dry off and head across the mountain pass.

Next stop, one of our favorites right above the Columbia River - Wild Horse Monument.

Beth didn't care where she was, she had her ball.



Bonnie always feels wonderful about herself after some good ball throwing. She is an aspiring stock dog you know. It is her job to bring anything that is escaping back to mom. Every time mom throws the ball, Beth leaves. Bonnie's job is to chase her and bring her errant butt back to the fold. Amazingly she is successful every single time!



To exercise Crazy Dog Lady's car seat weary backside we decided to hike the trail up to the top of the monument.



Ranger was game



Beth was into it



Dog Lady was too, until we got half way up the hill and realized I left the cell phone in the car. We had to turn back, because without the cell phone, when I had a heart attack and collapsed at the top - there was no way to call for help. Besides, who needs to hike when you have a 24x zoom lens.

Yep, sweet...



Back into the car for the short jaunt to Moses Lake where we had plans to meet with Pat, one of the PNW Border Collie Rescue foster mothers. Pat is an amazing woman. She specializes in litters of puppies. Bonnie came from Pat (more on that story later).

The current puppies are a litter of two working border collies from a ranch in Klamath Falls, OR. Many ranchers treat their dogs like livestock & do not spay or neuter them. We are thankful they give them to rescue, because so many of them are put down the old fashioned way, via a bucket of water or a bullet. This particular rancher, while he loved his dog, he needed get her back to work. Thus he contacted rescue to take the litter. The puppies were just weaned & were to young too adopt out - so Pat has been fostering them for a few weeks and most importantly socializing them. She does a wonderful job with the puppies - they come from her home happy, well adjusted, affectionate & used to the sounds of family life.

Pat also had Susie. A purebred 8 month old pup that was surrendered into rescue because she was chasing the neighbors horses. Susie is being fostered by one of our friends, Vicki. Jazzmine, one if the litter of puppies, needed transport to her adoptive family on this side of the mountains too.

The other puppy needing transport was adopted too ...

Meet Little Miss Puppy-Butt. Also known as Lyndi of KF-5.











It was a long day, full of new smells, new adventures and new friends. Everyone was plumb tuckered out






Welcome to our family Miss Puppy.