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New baby, and unpleasant baggage


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We got a new pup last week. For such a lovely little guy, he sure has brought a lot of unwanted excitement into our lives!

First, although the pet shop listed him as an australian shepherd/border collie mix, he shows NO border collie at all...in fact looks like a German Shepherd/austrailian shepherd mix. OK...the vet affiliated with the pet shop said maybe he was a 3-way mix and some German got in there....OK....maybe....

Then the vet associated with the pet shop (got to go there free to have pup checked out) said he did not have kennel cough. OK....how come all the other dogs in the house suddenly developed it? Needless to say they all got taken to the vet we know well and usually use...but definitely not for free!

We are happy to have rescured 'Dodger' from that shop, and he is a very calm, even tempered pup, adjusting to the other dogs, cats, parrot and us very quickly. He loves nothing more than to hang out with his 'pack'.

post-2444-0-93007100-1418505228_thumb.jpg We love him to death, but OOOF-TA there went our holiday money to pay vet bills!

I guess the moral of the story is not to go to the vet affiliated with the pet store? He certainly had a different definition of 'kennel cough' than everyone else seems to have.

Merry Christmas to all from us all (cough, cough)!post-2444-0-82773900-1418505670_thumb.jpgpost-2444-0-40841000-1418505641_thumb.jpg

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We picked up a pup at the local shelter...so said they.. all had kennel cough shots

We already had two dogs.. took this pup for wellness check up and he was sick KC and....

we had to quickly vaccinate our own dogs and the clinic shut down to scrub/sanitize .

The shelter gave us a receipt saying they would pay for the wellness check up. .. they

back pedaled and did not!! We knew someone that worked there ..2/3 of all the dogs died

from that kennel cough.......she also said no DVM came and gave shots on her watch.

The pup we got also died despite all that the DVMs did. I wonder if there is more than one strain.

 

Hope your pup does well , he certainly looks well fed.

Edited by Twilight
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Well, our news is pretty good - We went to our vet four times with a different dog in tow each time. The chihuahuas both got it first, one still has a runny nose and eyes, but is slowly recovering; the other bounced back quidkly (good thing, getting the meds down him was a wrestling match). Who would have thought such a little dog knew such ninja moves for avoiding a medicine dropper?

Our older purebred Aussie started in with meds right away so he seems to have missed catching anything. But our year old purebred aussie, "Petey the Sweetie" gpt veery sick indeed. He coughed constantly and stopped eating and drinking, so we went twice to have fluids put in him via IV, and bought some special 'critical care' food puree (near as I can tell mostly liver) and I was spoon feeding it, nearly force feeding just to get something in him. He was so weak he could not walk more than a few steps. The first set of meds did nothing....the 2nd stronger ones worked (thank goodness) and he started bouncing back. Finally, after nearly a week of worry, he ate his first solid food - some thin slices of porterhouse steak. Even then, I had to put it in his mouth, before he got the hint and started eating. Now he is eating in small amounts, but IS eating his dog food, as well as the meat slices, and the vets' 'stinky puree' with his meds crushed and hidden inside.

Getting the cough syrup down him is a trip - he will take some, then start shaking his head and spraying red, cherry flavored syrup all over whoever is closest (me, with the medicine dropper). BUT I don't care....its working.

Our Christmas budget is shot to pieces, as well as my next three social security and pension checks (God bless that vet for letting me write checks for them to hold, or Petie would no longer be with us.)

We took the crew fresh Christmas cookies and zucchini bread as a sincere thank you, and Dodger is relieved, too (he was laying beside his new buddy when he didn't feel so good). Petie, best of all, is showing a revival of his interest in squirrel and blinky-ball chasing. So Chrismas will be good this year because we have our own news of great joy!

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Well, our news is pretty good - We went to our vet four times with a different dog in tow each time. The chihuahuas both got it first, one still has a runny nose and eyes, but is slowly recovering; the other bounced back quidkly (good thing, getting the meds down him was a wrestling match). Who would have thought such a little dog knew such ninja moves for avoiding a medicine dropper? Our older purebred Aussie started in with meds right away so he seems to have missed catching anything. But our year old purebred aussie, "Petey the Sweetie" gpt veery sick indeed. He coughed constantly and stopped eating and drinking, so we went twice to have fluids put in him via IV, and bought some special 'critical care' food puree (near as I can tell mostly liver) and I was spoon feeding it, nearly force feeding just to get something in him. He was so weak he could not walk more than a few steps. The first set of meds did nothing....the 2nd stronger ones worked (thank goodness) and he started bouncing back. Finally, after nearly a week of worry, he ate his first solid food - some thin slices of porterhouse steak. Even then, I had to put it in his mouth, before he got the hint and started eating. Now he is eating in small amounts, but IS eating his dog food, as well as the meat slices, and the vets' 'stinky puree' with his meds crushed and hidden inside. Getting the cough syrup down him is a trip - he will take some, then start shaking his head and spraying red, cherry flavored syrup all over whoever is closest (me, with the medicine dropper). BUT I don't care....its working. Our Christmas budget is shot to pieces, as well as my next three social security and pension checks (God bless that vet for letting me write checks for them to hold, or Petie would no longer be with us.) We took the crew fresh Christmas cookies and zucchini bread as a sincere thank you, and Dodger is relieved, too (he was laying beside his new buddy when he didn't feel so good). Petie, best of all, is showing a revival of his interest in squirrel and blinky-ball chasing. So Chrismas will be good this year because we have our own news of great joy!

post-2444-0-08996300-1419044632_thumb.jpg

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Love the pic of Sweetie-Petey with his blinky ball. Such a handsome fellow! So glad your crew is feeling better.

 

Just think of it as an expensive Christmas gift to yourself. One that gives oodles of cuddles, hours of laughter, sloppy wet kisses, and bucket loads of unconditional love. Bless you for taking such good care of your four legged kids! :hug3:

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So glad all is turning out well with "the pack" and the handsome new pup has a good home. Uffda for the vet bill is right! That was really nice of them to allow you to pay over time. We recently had to bring two older cats to the vet and what they charge nowadays is a shock. Still glad the "old girls" will be with us longer.

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Wow, that reminds me of when little Koa was so very sick in GA...and her littermates got it too! We had hydration bags hung for the ones who got really dehydrated. Wonderful way to maintain them while their bodies fight the 'bug'. Easy for novice to do. Hey, I only went to the floor ONCE while holding a puppy with a needle stuck under their skin. :0327: .....pretty good for a "Recovering Needle-Phobic". :D

But I have a good idea on HOW MUCH WORK it is to nurse a bunch of critters back to health. You've been BUSY! :thumbs:

 

It really was so rude to bring that illness into your whole dog pack tho. :tapfoot: It could have been avoided. Very glad to hear that all are recovering.

 

MtRider ....Happy Christmas with your furry family members!! :wub:

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Thank you for the support. Petey is now getting back to his old self. Still has coughing fits while he coughs up phlegm (OMG I think I spelled it right!) but when he quiets down he is back to his affectionate, bouncy self. This morning he lined up for his breakfast right along with everybody else (tho I must admit I sneaked a crushed medication tab into a piece of hamburger...). Then it was out to play ball while I trained Dodger (the new little fella) for the first time. Only about 5 min but lots of loving and a treat when he was done. I don't want to overwhelm the little guy with new and scary things.

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  • 1 month later...

If you want to know what your dog's mix is, you CAN! Dnamydog.com Simple to do. We got a female Lab x as an older dog. We knew she was not pure lab but wondered what her mix was. She is 3/4 Lab x 1/4 Brittany Spaniel.

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ill have to cruise over there and look at it - here DNA costs $75 so far its on hold as it isn't a critical thing to know for certain.

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