The Superior Express -

Man has it been a week. I finally decided to go ahead and find a puppy so I went looking to see what I could find nearby. Honestly, there wasn't much. I didn't want a little yappy dog, and I didn't want a big hairy dog, and I sure didn't want to pay an arm and a leg for a dog. I had been tucking away a little money here and there cause I knew someday I would want another, but the price of pups has gone up quite a bit in the last 20 years. I tried the shelters a few months back, and they have a crazy list of requirements for adopting, I understand why, but it's hard to meet those expectations, and they didn't have much in the way of puppies, and I really wanted a puppy.

I've adopted grown dogs before and had good luck, but it's a 50-50 shot. I had to re-home the last dog we adopted, and that made me feel horrible, but in four years, I just couldn't get through to her. She would run away every chance she got. If the door was open she would bolt, and it didn't matter who was standing there. She almost knocked a few people over, and you couldn't catch her. You just had to follow her and hope she didn't get hit by a car. She also had severe separation anxiety, I'm not going to get into the gory details of that but that was hard to deal with. We found her a home on a farm, with room to run and a wonderful owner who spoils her rotten, and she is happy and loved. That's all that matters.

I found many cute puppies, but the price tags were way out of my price range. I was about to give up and then I found him, a mutt, and he was adorable! A German shepherd, terrier cross. So I contacted the owner and made the arrangements to meet him. She had four left, two female and two male. I have always had better luck training males, so that's what I was hoping for. When we got there to see them they were all bouncy and excited, except one. He seemed just a little shy, and I tend to stay away from the shy ones, they can be bitters, but George liked him the best, and then the owner told us she thought he might be sick. She said even though they had been given their shots, she thought he might have Parvo.

Parvo is a breeder and dog owner's worst nightmare! Here I am holding this pup that I have been loving on for the last 20 minutes, and have just decided to take home, and she says that dirty word. She said he hadn't shown any symptoms yet, but just wasn't acting like himself. First of all, if you think a puppy might have Parvo, you separate that pup from the litter and give it extra care. Second of all, if one has it, they all have it! I took her word for it that he wasn't symptomatic and we brought home our puppy.

It took two of the three-hour drive to come up with a name, I had a few picked out, but they didn't seem to fit. We settled on Gus. Gus started vomiting at 5:30 a.m., and so we were parked in front of the vet clinic when it opened. I had called to let them know what was going on and they met us at the car. Did I mention Parvo is also a veterinarian's nightmare? They gave Gus shots, and fluids in the back of my car, and I was sent home with an assortment of supplies to hopefully save his life.

For those of you who don't know the K-9 parvovirus is similar to the flu, the symptoms are vomiting and diarrhea. They refuse to eat or drink, and their organs shut down from the dehydration. You treat the symptoms, keep them hydrated, and pray. Most of the time puppies don't make it.

I pushed fluids and held that puppy all day, only setting him down to potty or to clean and sanitize the areas where he had gotten sick, mainly on me. Thankfully, I was able to get him outside for most of it. He died 24 hours after we got him. He was such a sweet boy, and I am thankful that he died in a loving home rather than in a makeshift kennel in Kansas.

I find it hard to believe he had shown no symptoms before we brought him home. Either she lied to me, or she was just not paying attention.

Crazy as it may seem, the next day we went back and got the other male pup. I knew he was not showing symptoms because I had been playing tug-o-war with him and his sisters the day before. Since our house and our yard had been exposed to the virus, I would have to wait at least six months before bringing puppy from another litter home. I also knew there was a major possibility he would get sick, but since he had been exposed and was still acting healthy and strong, there was a chance he would make it with treatment, and I couldn't leave him there. I would have taken the two females if I could have.

It didn't take as long to name this guy, I named him Duke, after my first dog, a German Shepard. On the car ride home he happily chewed up several dog chews, and only whimpered a little after the first couple hours. He seemed to be a happy, healthy pup...until he didn't. The next morning he had his first loose bowel movement, I gave him an anti-diarrheal, and we went about our day. That evening he started to vomit, and I kind of lost it, not going to lie, I started crying. After examining the vomit, I found pieces of paper, almost like butcher paper, and then I found more in his next bowel movement, along with worms. I was a little relieved and a lot angry. I was relieved because his symptoms could be from the worms and or the trash he had gotten into and not Parvo. I was angry because the more I saw, the more I felt like these pups had been neglected. I knew he didn't get into anything here, cause I hadn't let him out of my sight.

Teraesa Bruce and Gus just after coming home from the vet.

We have had him for three days now, he is sleeping a lot and hasn't chewed anything up, so I know he isn't feeling well. He still has loose bowels and an upset tummy but he has been wormed and we are managing his symptoms.

On a positive note, he hasn't had an accident in the house yet. He is responsive and is my little shadow until he sees me pull the Pedialite out of the refrigerator, then he tries to hide with George. He is a little cuddle bug and will be the biggest lap dog ever. The kitties even seem to like him, well they tolerate him anyway. Bob tries to play with him, and Toothless, she just ignores him. I am hopeful that he will pull through, but if you don't mind, say a prayer or two for us. I'm pretty sure I need him just as much as he needs me right now. X's & O's.