Puppy Woes, Part Two

When you get to the end of your rope, tie a knot in it and hang on! ~Author unknown

My previous post probably struck you as pretty depressing.

Well, read on.

Despite Monkey’s compromised system from the bladder infection and antibiotics, the vet said he was due for another round of puppy vaccinations, so I made an appointment.

Monkey was poked twice — one, a combo shot designed to prevent seven different diseases (including hepatitis, distemper, parvovirus, coronavirus, and leptospirosis), and the other, a vaccine to prevent rabies.

Mistake.

Not all dogs handle vaccinations well, and Monkey is clearly one of them.

The diarrhea worsened, and he was put on a five-day regimen of Metronidazole (another antibiotic).

It helped some but wasn’t a cure. Monkey started vomiting and acted sluggish, and my fears kicked into high gear.

One of his littermates had been diagnosed with Parvo, so back to the vet we went.

Yay, that test was negative!

Then I did some checking online and learned shots should be administered to healthy puppies only.

And an online forum of pet parents indicated Monkey was far from the only one suffering bad side effects after combo vaccines.

Hmm.

Then I consulted Dallas’s breeder, who was horrified.

“Shelties are too sensitive for that,” she told me. “You never give them multiple shots at once. All that did was fry his intestines!”

Uh-oh. No wonder he got diarrhea.

Sorry, Mama, I didn’t mean to!

I was frantic. What if he became dehydrated, lost weight, “failed to thrive,” and ultimately had to be put down?

Bad enough that this pup had already cost me a small fortune between his purchase and the vet bills, but I didn’t think I could endure another heartbreak so soon on the heels of Dallas’s death.

I was overwhelmed. Tired from lack of solid sleep. Exhausted from making frequent trips to Mom’s rehab facility, retrieving her laundry, washing clothes, and returning them to her. Achy from being on my hands and knees, cleaning up Monkey’s “accidents.”

And bone-weary from worry … over both of them and how poorly I seemed to be handling things. Where had my usual sunny optimism gone??

Not even Monkey’s cuteness, love, and potential companionship could offset this much misery.

Come back Friday for the final installment in this story.