Emergency Vet Visit for Nemo

Nemo perking up around Midnight 10/8/10

 I'd like to stat of by making it very clear that as of this moment Nemo is doing GREAT!!! Most of the photos in this post were taken moments ago while he naps at my feet.

After the visit to see Dr. Stubchar on Thursday the puppies were all doing good. Friday morning while feeding breakfast I notice Nemo kinda hanging back & not in his usual robust mood. I made note of it, hoping it was in reaction to the vaccinations the day before. At lunch there was no mistaking something was dreadfully wrong. He was standing in a corner struggling to breath. My heart raced & I flew into crisis mode. I swooped him up & went directly to Dr. Stubchar's office. Luckily I was able to see her right away. She & her office staff ( nor I) could believe this was the same pup they'd seen just 24 hours prior. Our biggest fear was dreaded Parvo, but the test came out Negative -Fantastic news! We then knew what is wasn't, now the delima was figuring out what it was.

X-ray showed a mass in Nemo's diaphragm/lung area. What was it? An Ultrasound would mean taking this already struggling pup to San Jose, 40 minutes away & try to be seen. We didn't think that was time he had to spare. The decision was made to take a peek inside, see what was going on? If there was a hernia in his diaphragm is could be addressed right away. The surgery revealed no hernia. More good news! There was fluid in his lungs so pneumonia was toss out as a possibility since he was running a slight fever.

The day prior Nemo had the foresight to poop during his exam. Dr. Stubchar had the foresight to run a fecal analysis. The results were concerning. It displayed a high parasite count of round wroms. The whole litter had been de-wormed on Oct.3rd , the Sunday prior, The worming was noticeably effective by the appearance of bean sprout looking worms in their poop Monday morning. Nasty, but a common occurrence especially in stray dogs. After the initial deworming we figured whatever was living in their little bellies had been addressed & they were in the clear until the next deworming 10 days latter (per instructions) .....not so!!! The infestation was so severe that the worming wasn't able to address it all. Nemo's issue was either caused or compounded by the round worms migrating to his lungs.

During surgery his insides were thoroughly inspected & there were no other findings. He was stitched up & dewormed again. He is now on anti-inflammatory & antibiotics. I brought him home with an IV catheter still in place. I stayed up with him all night to keep a close watch.( not how I'd envisioned spending my    birthday) He was a groggy, whimpering noodle & still struggling to breathe. Note: in the  photos his eyes look goopy from the lubricant used during surgery.

Around mid-night he began to perk up a bit but still no tail wags or appetite. He had to eat small meals regularly to get some nutrition in him to gain some strength to allow his body to recover. About 1:00 am I resorted to smearing honey in his mouth. He was able to have a bowel movement & pass a pile of worms, 1st time I was happy to see a puppy poop in my living room.  Bleach spray came out & I went into sterilization mode. I'm already freaked out at he whole worm notion. We've see a few to many Discovery programs. I'm going to my family Dr. Monday just to put my mind at ease. I'm a pretty clean person & keep a fairly clean house. During the whelping process & the 1st month of the puppies lives they spent it here in my home office. I am on constant poop patrol & diligent with disinfectants but you just can't be to sure.

Heinsight is 20/20. I should have dewormed Lucy as soon as she came to our house. This is a sever lesson learned. Worms are something I never had to address. We'd have our dogs heart worm tested & keep them on monthly prevention so it was never in the for front of our minds. It  is now! Live & Learn.

Saturday Morning Nemo went back to Dr. Stubchar's office because he wasn't eating or drinking & needed fluids. He spent the day there. That worked out perfectly. Saturday was our 1st puppy meet & greet with 3 adoptive families. Knowing Nemo was in good hands let me focus on the rest of the litter for a while. When I pick him up he had already eaten 1/2 a jar of baby food & his eyes were clearer. Last night he really began to perk up. He went out with me to feed the litter both lunch & dinner. He didn't eat but hung out on the sidelines. We had friends come over last night whit their 2 sons 6 &8 years old. Nemo had lots of fun playing with them. He has to stay separate form the litter & supervised when he is with them so they don't open his incision & he has a chance to heal. This is an added bonus for his adoptive family. Nemo is already started on crate training, potty training & getting used to living in a home. There is no way I could do this with all the puppies ...& stay married.

Neno's future prognosis looks good. He was the biggest, most advanced in the litter which gave him a leg up. We need to keep him under close watch until his breathing return to normal. While it's much better, his breathing is still not 100%. He is on Anti-Inflammatory & Antibiotics for 14 days. Aside from his scar there is not reason to believe he will not make a full recovery. He has started eating small meals mixed with yogurt. Antibiotics tend to kill all bacteria even the good stuff that stabilizes yeast. the yogurt contains probiotics that help counter.  Now the question is : After investing this much time & emotion into Nemo will I be able to part with him? Only to an extra special family.


Crate training isn't fun for Nemo or Foster Mama