From a happy puppy - to nearly being put down - To back home... Hopefully this story ends with an adult bullie

[sporako]

You may have seen my post about Bella – She was showing some signs of kennel cough, or pneumonia and I took her into the vet. The vet treated her and said, don’t worry she will be fine in a few days.

Two days later, I awake to bella crying a cry that I’ve never heard a dog cry.. She was scared, and barly able to breath.

We rushed off to the animal hospital – and she was diagnosed with pneumonia. It was really bad, and the doctor said because of her small air way we were up for a big fight.

Well – Two days into the hospital stay, she is still on the O2Chamber. The doctor says there has been zero improvement and the O2 saturation level in her blood is at 90% She said that most dogs after 12 hours respond a bit better…

That said, she said we should give her more time. So we outlined a plan that gave her more time.

Now after 78 hours in the chamber, a battery of medicine they took her out of the chamber. And she stayed out – she did great! The doctor told me that she could come home at 5pm.

Well, at 4:00 a phone call came.. My heart sank because it was from the Doctor’s number.. Why was she calling?

Well – her heart rate jumped to 240btm – and they had to put her back into the Chamber.

Crushing blow..

Now my young puppy has been in the hospital for 5 days, and shes back to square one.

Well today, they figured out she had a reaction to some medication – and took her out of the chamber. She did great, and after six long nights (total) she got to come home.

Well, that’s where this story leads us – to me typing watching this wonderful (still very sick) puppy breathing cuddling with my shoulder. Her little face next to mine – the wet sounding breath brushing my face every time she pushes air out.

I’m really scared, I haven’t slept much during this ordeal – and now I have a schedule of tasks to do. I’m to provide nebulization and coupage every four hours. Two different meds – one twice aday and the other just once –



Anyone have any suggestions for a daddy dealing with a little puppy 11 weeks – trying to mend a pneumonia?

I feel very lucky, and happy for Bella... Just hope we can make it to the next milestone

 

[Alice Kable]

Bless her heart and bless your heart, too! I would be scared, too. Poor Bella, I am praying for a full recovery.

 

[Terry]

Bella is so lucky to have someone that loves her so much. I really have so ideas other than to set an alarm for when the medications are due, sleep when she does you will both be in my prayers.

 

[buffalobabie]

this happened to my moms shihtzu when she was 4. it started as kennel cough though and got really bad fast. just hang in there! Do you have any family to help you? so you can get some sleep?

 

[jmill79]

Really hoping for the best to come through for you and your bully.

 

[kazzy220]

I am so sorry to hear of this.

I know there have been owners on here who have had dogs with pneumonia and they have survived. Just keep looking at that cute little bully face, and you will know that every minute taking care of her is worth more than you can possibly imagine.

We had had Maggie only two weeks when she broke her front leg. The distress of rushing her to the vets and then to the emergency vets and seeing her through the entire recovery process has given both myself and my husband, Tom, a greater and deeper bond to her than we could possibly imagine. To the extent that the bond we have with her is greater than with any other of our dogs .. and I know that sounds really really awful to say. But it just happened ....

Nursing your baby through this will touch you in ways you can never explain to anybody else .. and every moment you spend with her from now on will be more precious.

 

[DoughnutsMom]

We went through something similar with our baby when he was a puppy and he is a healthy 6 year-old now, but I was a wreck for weeks! I'm assuming Bella got the nasal "shot". We didnt know at the time that bulldogs should never get those. I listened to what the vet told me to do and I didnt hesitate to take Doughnut in (both regular and emergency), if I felt like he was getting worse. I hope you and Bella get better soon!!!!! She is absolutely adorable!!!

 

[BeauregardMom]

I'm so sorry to hear about the ordeal that you and Bella are going through. You'll both be in my prayers!

 

[LariP]

I have no experience here, but remember [MENTION=2615]Mod85[/MENTION] just went through a similar battle recently. So hopefully this mention will draw some help to your thread, by someone who does!

 

[Davidh]

We are praying for Bella for a quick recovery, I'm so sorry for her and you to have to go through this. Bless her little heart, she is too young to have to go through this. Please keep us posted of her recovery and we will keep sending good vibes and prayers her way.

 

[GatorRay]

I am so sorry this has happened to Bella. I know you must just be worried sick. I am glad she is home. Just be sure to get some rest for yourself. If you aren't well, you can't keep her well. *hugs* to both of you.

 

[Mod85]

O.M.G your story sounds soooo much like mine. Did your baby have the nasal bordetella vaccine? Samson (he's now nearly 5 months old) had the nasal bordetella vaccine at around 13 week and ended up battling for his life with Pneumonia. He spent 3 (or 4) days @ an internal specialist, when we arrived the first day they assumed that he would only need to be there for a day so that they could figure out what meds would work with him - he wasn't responding well to the meds that our vet put him on (clavamox.) Well, a day came and went and somewhere mid afternoon he took a turn for the worst and they would not allow us to take him. Third day came and they said although he had improved slightly they didn't feel comfortable letting us take him - mind you at this point they had already told me that they couldn't guarantee that he would even make it through this episode of Pneumonia. On the third day after spending a good amount of time on the phone with our local vet, the internal specialist, and Samsons breeder - we decided to take a ride over to the internal specialist (which is about an hour drive.) Our breeder wanted to know what he looked like and if we felt that he could make the trip to her place as she has an oxygen tank, nebulizer, etc and has treated sick puppies before. Anyways, my mom and I made the drive and decided that we needed to get him out of their - he didn't look great but with them telling us that they couldn't guarantee he was going to make it we didn't feel like it made much sense to keep him in. Let me tell you, taking him out for us was the best decision we could have made. My mom and I made the 2 hour drive to Samsons breeders house, where she right away put him in the nebulizer container they made themselves (I can send pictures), gave him oxygen, and was able to get him to eat (he wasn't eating at the vets for over a day.) Our breeder kept him at her house for about a week, until she felt like he was strong enough to make a recovery at home. When we got home we continued to give him the prescribed medicine - amoxocilin and another antibiotic (I can't think of the name off the top of my head), we also gave him benedryl every 8 hours to help clear the gunk from his lungs, we continued to nebulize him twice per day (my dad had a nebulizer that he didn't use anymore) using the nebulizer container that Samsons breeder made (rubbermaid container with holes drilled in the sides), and resticted his activity level by crating him for a good portion of the day. It's been a bit over a month since this all started and we're still giving Samson breathing treatments once a day, sometimes 2 times a day (depending on the weather) - but he's alive! Do you have access to a nebulizer? Chances are if you check around someone you know might have one, or else your vet should be able to write a prescription. At this point, we fill the nebulizer up with saline and he's in it for 15 minutes everyday (not a big deal at all.) I don't know how well Samson would be doing right now if it wasn't for the nebulizer. Did the vet prescribe any meds? If not start her on benedryl every 8 hours, that will help to open up her airways to get some of the gunk out. Also, if you can contain her and her crate in a room with a humidifier that should help, it might feel like a jungle to you, but it will really help her out. I totally feel your pain right now as just reading your story brings back so many icky memories. Please please please keep us posted, private message me if you have any questions!

 

[Donna LeBlanc]

I am so sorry to hear that Bella is so sick...I feel your pain. My Punkie went through the very same thing. She had a cough when we got her and the cough turned into an upper respiratory infection and then pneumonia. I got Punkie in July and it took until October to get her through the ordeal. Punkie was at the vet more times than I can count the first few months of her little life. I don't even remember how many different antibiotics she was on...but NOTHING was working. I was so worried, just as you are. As a last resort, Punkie's vet put her on ZENIQUIN which is NOT recommended for use in puppies but it was prescribed as a final effort to save her life. I don't remember the mg dosage or the number of times she had to take the meds. Zeniquin was the magic bullet that pulled her through. Within 24 hours, I could see a marked difference. After 48 hours, I was sure she was going to make it!! It was such a relief to see/hear her breathing normally after being on Zeniquin for just a couple of days. My Punkie was 14 weeks old when I got her. I'm just passing this information along in case the meds your sweet Bella is currently on don't seem to be working. You and Bella will be in my prayers...I pray that she makes a quick and full recovery. By the way, if you would like to discuss giving Bella Zeniquin, I can call my vet and ask what the dosage/mg was that Punkie was on. God Bless you and Bella.

 

[Donna LeBlanc]

By the way, something I forgot to tell you is that our vet also put Punkie on Fortiflora mixed in plain yogurt. The fortiflora and yogurt help boost the puppy's immune system and keep the "good" bacteria from being killed with the bad bacteria from all the antibiotics. Punkie is 3 years old now and healthy. Good luck with your baby...

 

[Mod85]

Just re-read an saw that I missed the nebulizer, how are you nebulizing? Are you putting her in some sort of chamber? I've got a recommendation if you don't already have something that you're using.