WooooHoooo!!!!
This is wonderful, just great!!
At his young age with what he went through, he has to take it easy for awhile. especially w/ a splenectomy. Activities being kept to a minimum. I know.....easier said than done with a pup, especially his age!!, lol.
Now that he doesn't have his spleen, you have to be vigilant w/ his life "care" so to speak. The spleen provides extra red blood cells in canines when needed and also removes bacteria, and toxic, foreign substances. it's a major part of his immune system. I would make a few copies of all that was done w/ his surgery and so forth to keep on hand to give to any new vet you may have in the future so they're aware of his spleen/part liver removal as it can change the course of some treatments/ meds, if needed in the future.
My hubby had his removed after a motorcycle accident, so he has to be more careful w/ any future procedures/surgeries and meds needed due to his other injuries/disabilities from the accident. And also w/infections and so on.
It seems because the spleen is like a sponge and is filled with and filters blood, needing a transfusion during surgery is not uncommon as they can lose so much.
He has to be careful the next couple of weeks w/ his recovery. Especially at the surgical site.....w/ licking/chewing. Keep an eye for any possible infection, redness, swelling in the area....even though I hate them myself, use an elizabeth collar if necessary. Also exercise intolerance, white/pale gums, etc..
I'm sure you've been told all this so I'll shut my mouth now...I'm just sooooo happy for you and Otto!
And maybe, if you can, look online at some of the canine insurance plans. They have all different levels of care. At his age they are pretty cheap. And because of his spleen removal, and being a dog, you can't tell him what NOT to do/eat or be careful of, LOL....it may provide some extra protection for his future. I know that some, just as w/ human insurance, have rules for pre-existing conditions. But it's worth a look for possibly just a few bucks a month.
take care, and give Otto a big smooch ; )
Otto is doing well. Has his energy back and is ready to play. They are testing him for 5 or 6 different types of bacterial infections. They believe his spleen was the main source as its tissues were dead. I am hoping to know his test results today or tomorrow!
I told you he would hang on to you if he could!!!! Smiles and smiles, so happy, I hope he can continue to climb the ladder back up to health...it might be a challenge, hes was a very sick little fella. You've got a dog whos crazy in love to not miss a thing in your life, he wants his momma and to be by your side...hopefully...you can pull this one off....
I know its uphill,,,,keep trying....really happy for you....really very happy for you...
keep posting....
Whoo Hoo!!! Good News....:o)
Oh wonderful news!!
Please keep us updated on his progress.
Take care, Teresa ; )
I am happy to say that Otto gets to come home today!!!
Amazing dog, indeed! Sending doggie prayers for him, and good wishes for you, too!
What a horror story! And what an amazing dog to have survived all this so far. He really has a strong will to live doesn't he? I'll add my prayers to yours that he can come home soon. :-)
They found multiple masses in his spleen, liver, lympth nodes, and only one in the intestines. They did surgery yesterday hoping to find out what it is. During Surgery Otto was doing wll as his blood pressure dropped and his temp. They had to take out his spleen and a section of his liver as his blood was not clotting properly to stop the bleeding. They gave him a red blood transfusion and plasma transfusion to get his blood to clot. He had a reactiont o the plasma which caused his face to swell and get hives. They gave his allergie medication and soem of the swelling went down. He was very critical and they were not sure if he would make it. We went and saw him and when we got there and he saw us he tried getting up and his levels went back to normal and he became stable. His face was still swolleb but he was happy to see us. They are now testing for diffrent types of baterial infections. They have never seen masses like this. We are praying that they find out what it is so we can bring him home!!
How did the visit turn out for the dog?? What did they say?? Are ya'll okay?
Parvo is no joke. There's a lot of it around now, this is the season, and if the seller neglected to inform you that he had not been vaccinated and to get him to a vet within a couple of days, he or she was negligent.
You are more concerned, I know, with how your dog is doing than whether they need to refund or give you another dog, but if they are breeders for sale (more than just the one incidental litter), you will do future buyers a favor to report the incident to animal control. Putting out pups with parvo is a lethal business.
For future reference, a vet exam of a new pet--before going home, if you have other pets--is a good idea few of us follow through, but wish we had.
If your pup has a high white blood count after battling parvo - has he been checked for distemper? Like people have said, the parvo seriously lowers the immune system making him more succeptible to other health problems. Ask your vet if they've checked him for distemper. As for costs - you could always check with your local human society-type facility as they sometimes run programs to help people with vet bills. Good luck, I hope you and your baby make it thru this... lots of TLC can make a bug difference too.
AMEN!! BabaluandOtis2 - wouldn't it be nice if we still bartered with rocks???
He was diagnosed with parvo in Oct. When we knew he was coming home we cleaned everything with bleach. To this day we still clean a lot of out stuff with bleach because he is contagiouse up to one year. I even went outside and where we went to the bath room i poored bleach everywhere. We wanted to make sure that no other animal egts it. My vet said seeing that he has already had Parvo he can not get it again. We got him from a breeder in Michigan. Her home was really in the middel of no where. He came from a litter of six and when he was diagnosised I called her to let her know. She said all the toerh puppies where fine and heared no complaints for other buyers. I don't believe that has symptoms from parvo take 7-10 days toshow up. We only had him 4 days before he was diagnossied. I was made and received half my money back from her.
The vet was sure as they diagnosised him threw a stool sample. Iam not sure if they did blood too as my boyfriend is the one who rushed him in do to myself being at work.
I guess we will know more tomorrow when bringing him into MSU. I will kepp you guys updated.
With a high fever and high WBC, his body is trying to fight some sort of infection. Parvo depletes the WBC and leaves them open to secondary infections to other things. At least his are now high, and there to fight what ever it is.
Did you disinfect your home/yard after he got the parvo? it can live for quite some time on any surface, you can carry it on your shoes/clothing too. and dogs can be reinfected I think. Also he is still contagious to other dogs too, they say from 2-8 weeks. he shouldn't be around other dogs. They can get it from his poop, and anywhere THAT may travel to or on.
If you google parvo there are sites with info on how to disinfect your home. Mostly with bleach diluted in water.
Where did you get him from? Did you inform them that your dog got parvo? Some breeders/stores can be responsible for costs etc.. if you get an infected pup. It sounds like he got it right after you got him?
Is your vet absolutely sure it was parvo? How did they diagnose it? As sometimes it is misdiagnosed for other things with similar symptoms that aren't as severe as parvo, if the vet didn't do all the tests to make sure. I think some types of intestinal worms mimc it too.
just keep up with getting GOOD nutrients into him, plenty of water he needs all his strength. Natural yogurts have flora/cultures in them that helps w/ intestinal issues.
BUT on the other hand, if he might have a urinary/kidney infection, you have to withhold food and water. Just see if you can check his pee, get it in a cup if you can when he goes ( I'm sure i've looked like a complete nut to my neighbors at times while chasing my dogs around the yard trying to catch their pee, lol)
If the urine is darker yellow, brownish, reddish or thick looking and stinky that could be a urinary infection. It can also look like it has crystals in it when it dries.
Keep us posted with how he is doing please, and sending him tons of licks and smooches from my puppy boys ; )
The only symptom he has is a high fever which is causing a high white blood count. The fever is undiagnosed and the blood shows them nothing that they can diagnosis. He is on his third antibiotic, which he just started the third one, but the first two did nothing. He has no infection that they know of. I am hoping MSU can find something with as little money as possible. Although he is worth it my boyfriend and I are only 21 and still in college while working full time jobs. We were looking for a house but that will have to hold. We need to fix our baby first! I love this medhelp. I am glad to know people are here to give advise. It is wonderful!!
Okay, good deal,,,,yes they do fight for you,,,dogs have a huge desire to stay w/thier loving owners to the end....they will fight...and sometimes thats what pulls them thru...
Give your Momma's little boy a huge hug from Texas,,,,have you and yours on my mind, crossing my fingers for you...stay in touch...
He is on his Third rounds of antibiotics. He was brought into the vet on Wed and they kept him over night and placed a IV and have him antibiotics through the IV. We picked him up yesterday due to him not keeping in the IV and our Vet Dr. Mast stated he should be fine at home as long as he is eating and drinking. We watch him like a hawk and our vet knows that. We brought him home and the first thing he did was go to his food dish. He is eating better then i thought he would and he is drinking lots of water. I am happy to say that today so far his fveer is slowly going down. Last night it was over 105. and today it is in the 104. range. Normal temp for a dog is 101.5-102. He does have an appt with MSU on Tuesday 6-10 and it will probably cost us $2,500. He is our baby and we have so much invested in him already. He is so sweet and so good that it makes it hard to say no. I am not one to put him down, he is strong and can fight this. He is my little fighter, snuggler, and momma's little boy.
So, where are you with the dog right now....whats happening now...
Is he getting fluids?
Just call that university or whatever it is and beg, make payment plan if you can...I begged w/mine...didn't have all the funds at the time of emergency....just try...
Otis2 above comments are right on the money....she knows....
I worry for you...the pic is so sweet, beautiful pet....
Keep posting....we will hold your hand thru this the best way we can....
Elevated white count, usually means infection, add a fever w/it...well, thats what happens when you fight infections you run fever...plus, what otis2 says, she knows about the parvo stuff...
Is he on antibiotics??? I forgot to read...
And him making it thru that parvo, at his young age is a miracle in itself. He is a fighter.
The vet hosp. will usually work w/ you on a payment plan.
This is why it is so important to look into canine insurance these days, when they are young. The younger they are the cheaper it is. I should talk....I don't have it myself. But with all I've been thru w/ all my dogs, I am going to look into the different plans online. my boys are still pretty young, 2/1/2 and 4. prices won't be too bad. And with dogs living longer lives these days due to advanced vet medicine, they get a lot of age related illnesses just like people.
it's more for protection in their older life, but as you all too painfully know, the young ones fall victim too sometimes.
It's horrible when the care of your baby depends on your wallet. I just wish vets could be more understanding with what they are charging.
I would call the hosp. and see what your options are. They may be very accommodating.
The parvo completely exhausted and lowered his immune system. He could have any type of viral or bacterial infections. He really needs to be seen by experienced vets who can do more involved testing, and keep him on IV nutrients.
I'm sorry but that is the best for him, especially at his age.
Teresa
The Parvo is over with but he now has a chronic fever and they do not know what is causing it. The wants us to bring him to michigan state university but I am affraid we do not have money for this. The only symptom he has is a high fever which is causing a high white blood count. Any Ideas what this could be?
Very sorry to read this awful situation w/your little friend...Yep, you are in some trouble...the prior comments, she is right on the money...hydration so important, and please call another vet to be sure...
Emergency Vet hospitals are better than daily vet offices, why, well, they see the critical and more practice at recognizing symptoms for they see the worse cases...I learn a hard lesson on that, and an expensive one...if the vet does cure quick for me, we go straight to the ER Vet Hosp, cause in the end the money will total the same...
Your temps are very high and thats dangerous....did you say you ran blood work since the temp started back up??? or no...just the bloodwork that diagnose the Parvo?
Its very hard to save Parvo animals, you got to stay on your toes...very risky, some do pull out...keep posting on site...welcome to forum...hope all does get better for your friend...keep your hopes high, just maybe all will be okay...
I had a dalmation that had parvo too! This was over 15 yrs ago. Oh what a horrible disease!! I had gotten him from the pound, he was about a yr old. The first vet I took him to just took him for the day, gave him an IV and had me pick him up that afternoon when they closed....I was terrified......I had never delt with parvo before, coming from up north we really never had problems with it. But I had 3 other dogs at home at the time and was terrified they might get it as it is airborne. I called another vet and they had me bring him right in and he was there for a week on IV fluids. Everyday before and after work I went to see him. The vet wasn't happy about it but I wouldn't take no for an answer. He was skin and bones after too.
They need hydration, parvo sucks every bit out of them w/ the vomiting and diarrhea. And oh the smell of it, I'll NEVER for get that smell. I bleached everything at home, where he vomited or pooped, my carpets , the lawn, everything ,I didn't care what I ruined I was so afraid for my other dogs.
Dogs have a higher temp than humans, I can't remember what it is normally, I have to look. But he needs nutrients and water, to build his strength back up, his immune system is shot from the parvo.
The thread on here about the basset who isn't eating has some good ideas for trying to get nutrients into him.
The problem with parvo and younger dogs is that they haven't had many yearly shots to build up an immunity to it. And it makes them so weak. he really needs to be cared for with IV fluids and nutrients. Going to the vet Hospital may be the best for him.
he may have gotten an infection or flu type thing because his immune system is so low.
Please let us know what the vet said. And don't be afraid to call another. Thats what I had to do and I know if I had brought him home the first day and listened to the first vet I would have lost my Magoo and maybe my others too. It took a long time for him to get well, and gain weight again. But with constant care, love and slowly feeding/watering with small frequent meals after he came home kept him with us for another 12 years.
Good luck and prayers for your Otto