Fertile Ground: R.I.P. Dinkey

Ugh. It's taken a while for me to be able to type this up.

On Saturday, October 5th, I had a usual crazy Saturday--long run in the morning followed by two soccer games. Warren was in Huntsville for a Wing Chun pow wow and Jiro had a sleepover. Between running in and out all day I noticed that Dinkey was really lethargic. He wasn't eating and he just wanted to snuggle. Dinkey was not snuggler. While I enjoyed curling up with him on the couch, I knew someting was wrong.

Sunday morning, I really hoped he'd be better. The kids get all kinds of 24 hour bugs, so I hoped that's what dogs got too.

Satchel and I took Dinkey to the emergency vet on Summer. They told us that he had Parvo. I had never really heard of Parvo and didn't know how serious it was. The doctor said we could admit him to the hospital and then take him to the regular vet on Monday. The estimate for this option was $1000. She also said that she could give him a treatment and that we could take him home and then take him to the regular vet in the morning. She said he wasn't septic and that she had some success with this plan. This option was $250.

I was disraught and really unsure of what to do. I called Warren. I hung up on Warren. I burst into tears. I didn't know what to do. Based on what the doctor said and due to financial concerns, I chose the home treatment.

Dinkey slept most of the day and just seemed sad, but he was still getting around. He didn't want to eat or drink anything. By Sunday night we were all really worried. All four of us slept in the boys' room with him and waited for the vet to open at 7:30am on Monday.

By the time we got him to Central Animal Hospital I was sure they would put him down. He couldn't walk and he had a steady stream of bloody diarrhea. The vet actually said she had seen worse cases and that we shouldn't give up. Dinkey was admitted to the hospital.

Monday was a busy day. I had to work, Satchel got his braces, and Warren was busy getting ready to leave town again for a 2 day work trip. I called the vet and they said Dinkey was holding steady. They said I could come see him at lunch time on Tuesday.

When I went to see him he looked even more pitiful than Monday, which I didn't think was possible. They can't really treat Parvo. They can just give fluids and anti-nausea medicine and hope the pups have enough strength to fight the virus.

The vet said he wasn't out of the woods yet and that he might also have distemper, because of the amount of liquid draining from his eyes and mouth. But still, she wasn't ready to give up on him. The tech said she saw him standing up in the morning when she came in. She thought that was a good sign. I tried to take some comfort in this and hold out hope.

By 4:00pm I was disraught again. I called the hospital and talked to the tech. I felt like we were making him suffer and I felt horribly guilty. The tech assured me that the vet wasn't ready to give up and to wait til morning. Warren was out of town, so I didn't want to make the decision to put him down. I decided to wait.

I fretted all night and when the phone rang at 7:00am I knew it wasn't good news. "Dinkey didn't make it through the night," the vet said.

I cried.

I called Warren.

I took a deep breath and went to wake up the kids. In tears, Satchel said, "I had a dream that he was okay and we were playing."

It was pretty fucking heartbreaking.

We got dressed and headed to the hospital to say our goodbyes. The tech told me that rigamortis had set in and wanted to make sure the kids were prepared. Satchel decided not to go see him, but Jiro and I did. They had him wrapped up in a blanket and he looked peaceful. I aksed them to hold the body until the next day when Warren would be home and we could bury him.

I have never buried a puppy. It was awful. I don't ever want to go through this again. Our whole family is devastated.

So now to answer the questions...why didn't we vaccinate him? When we got him from the shelter we were told he had his shots and to take him to a vet within two weeks for the rabies shot. They gave us a rabies voucher. When we took him to Pet Vax two weeks later, they told us he was too young for rabies. When we took him back two weeks after that, he got the rabies shot and the heartworm medicine.

Dinkey was about 8-12 weeks old when we adopted him, so he may have needed more shots. I don't understand why we weren't given a full vaccination schedule at the shelter or from PetVax.

From HealthyPets.com:

Initial vaccination in puppies < 16 weeks of age Starting at 6 weeks, vaccinate every 3 to 4 weeks (6, 10, 14 or 8, 12, 16 weeks) up to 14 or 16 weeks; final shot should be given between 14 and 16 weeks to minimize risk of maternal antibody interference Initial vaccination in dogs > 16 weeks of age

One dose

Revaccination

For puppies who received initial vaccination series by 16 weeks, a booster no later than 1 year after completion of initial series, then ≥ 3 years thereafter

For dogs who received initial vaccination after 16 weeks of age, every ≥ 3 years thereafter

But that's a little confusing, right? Maybe the shelter or Petvax could have clued us in at some point?

Distemper has a similar schedule:

Initial vaccination in puppies < 16 weeks of age Starting at 6 weeks, vaccinate every 3 to 4 weeks (6, 10, 14 or 8, 12, 16 weeks) up to 14 or 16 weeks; final shot should be given between 14 and 16 weeks to minimize risk of maternal antibody interference Initial vaccination in dogs > 16 weeks of age

One dose

Revaccination

For puppies who received initial vaccination series by 16 weeks, a booster no later than 1 year after completion of initial series, then ≥ 3 years thereafter

For dogs who received initial vaccination after 16 weeks of age, every ≥ 3 years thereafter

Notes: Among healthy dogs, distemper vaccines are expected to induce immunity for at least 5 years.

I'm sick over the fact that we thought we were doing everything we were supposed to, but we weren't. Add to that the fact that we took him to the dog park several times a week and exposed him to all kinds of germs and well, I seriously feel like shit.

Now to really top things off, I learned that the Parvo virus can live in your house for anywhere from a month to six months and in your yard for up to a year. It's not safe for us to bring another puppy home.

I wish I knew what the fuck Parvo was to begin with. I wish the emergency vet would have given me some more info or made it clear that the only way to save Dinkey was to drop the $1000 for immediate care. I would have done it.

I wish he didn't spend his last few days suffering.

I want a do over.

I want Dinkey back.

This is what Warren wrote:

Dinkey was a shining light in our lives from the moment we saw him shredding his paper bedding at the animal shelter, til 82 days later when he left us. He never met a two- or four-legged creature who didn't feel a lick of his tongue or wag of his tail. His two settings were puppy overdrive and crashed asleep. Sharp as a nail too--would sit, shake paws, and lie down on request; and had enough sense to dodge and hide when he knew he was in trouble... If the brightest lights only burn a fraction as long, his was white hot. You will be missed Dinkey.