Illness Alert!

I received the following information this evening. If you have dogs, this is something to take seriously and watch your dogs closely. Zephyr is one of the dogs mentioned at the end as having diarrhea in the past 2 weeks and I will be in touch with a vet first thing tomorrow morning. I had spoken with my vet already, but at that time, they did not think it was serious. Zephyr has been having loose stools on and off for the past 2 weeks. Up to this point, Zephyr has been healthy - good appetite, put on about 7 pounds in 3 weeks (normal for a 5 month old), active and playful, clean eyes. The diarrhea was the only sign of anything wrong. Now, this new info means that it is serious.

(Excerpts from a longer message)
Deena [another leaderdog puppy] almost died last night. She was Ok yesterday morning, ate fine and I went to work. I came home for the afternoon, and about 2 she starting vomiting and having explosive diahhria [SIC] (Spelling? you know the stuff). I called the vet around 2:30. I had appropriate medicine at home so he thought it ok for her to start on medication but not come in. 10 minutes later, she was breathing funny and bubbling at the mouth with every breathe. I called back and asked to bring her in. We still thought it was not too serious, and the vet office was down a vet and so was double booked. They sweezed us in at 3:30. When he did the check, Deena was already in shock.
He could not find a pulse in her main arteries in the hind legs. Heart rate was slow and erratic. Temperature was 104. She obviously was lethargic

They started IVs immediately and kept her for several hours. She came home overnight for a few hours so that I could watch her while the office was closed, and then she returned for more IVs this morning. When I picked her up this afternoon, the vet said that with the dogs he has seen over the years, she was far enough gone that he thought he would have to call me to not pick her up last night because she had already died. He REALLY did not expect her to survive and is surprised that she did. She was one sick puppy!

MORAL OF THE STORY: This is 4 of our puppy group (who I know of) that has had the vomiting / diahhrea in the past 2 weeks. The vet says there is a nasty flu thing doing around cats and dogs right now, and it is nothing to mess with. Add the heat to the loss of body fluids, and their bodies can shut down in literally hours. If any of your pups starts acting funny - please do not feel foolish going to the vet asap. My first reaction was to start the medication and
let mom watch Deena while I returned to work. If I had done this - she would be dead this evening. Don't panic, but use some gut reactions and err on the side of caution.

Water monster

Before, During, During, After pictures. The grounds crews were watering the flowers this morning when I took Zephyr out to park. He had fun sticking his head in the stream to catch water and shake it. It's as much fun as running upstream in the spiral fountain shown in some previous posts.

Zephyr is doing fairly well. He had a bout of loose stools this week, but he seems to be getting over that. He is earning parts of his meals through- out the day by making good choices such as watching me, ignoring trash on the ground, and laying down quietly at my desk. He does need more work on stay. I was trying to make copies earlier and his attention span didn't seem to be long enough to stay while I made the copies. It doesn't help that the department has all kinds of food laying around the table by the copier.

5 months old

Zephyr is 5 months old now and has been for almost two weeks now, covering all of the photos in this post. Zephyr has made great progress in down on command and walking on leash. His house- breaking is almost complete. He just sometimes can't keep up with me and has to go as I'm headed out the door.

We took him on a canoe trip last Saturday with the puppy group and then off to a popcorn festival. The previous weekend, we took him shopping in a nearby community. It's a popular place, so popular with other people and their dogs that he came home with fleas. Frontline did its job and he was free within a couple of days.

Puppy Day - crowd

Another great thing about Puppy Day is admiring all the other puppies. The first picture is specifically for the lady pictured playing with Zephyr's brother Radar. Then there is a short coated collie that has been donated to the school's puppy program. Followed by a group of beautiful goldens that I know nothing about except that they were part of the puppy program. Chances are that the one with the red bandanna is the father of the rest. It's just a little blurry - I had to be quick and didn't get the camera fully focused. Then, two pictures of adorable black lab puppies.

Puppy Day - Parents

Zephyr's parents also came to Puppy Day this year. His dad Sailor is in the first picture, then Zephyr and his dad together, then both parents and then his mother Swayzer.

Puppy Day - Siblings

Every year, the school hosts 'Puppy Day' where raisers and families with breeding stock are invited to come and visit and pick up a little training. One of the high points of puppy day is finding the family of our puppy. These pictures show Zephyr and his siblings, from the top: sister Roxie, brother Radar, sister Meredith, Zephyr, and brother Wyatt.