my final report.

For all followers, I apologize SO much for not updating in, well, forever! Life has been crazy. Things with the babes have been even more crazy...

I realize there will be quite a few gaps in the development of the pupperonis but by the end of all of this..I truly hope you'll understand why..

So my last post was on December 1st, 2011 and just after that we had one of the most disgustingly scary experiences. The pups had worms..like spaghetti noodles coming out of them. Super scary. Super gross. I called the rescue & they received their first round of dewormer. I asked that we have our dog, Buck, treated as well but they said they weren't too worried about him since he wasn't exposed to the pups. Understandable, I guess. Anyway, they also received their first round of vaccinations. They asked that we bring a sample of their stool once the noodles/worms cleared.

We did this once but our contact forgot it overnight in the car & it froze. We brought one again but never received an update. Assumption: the kids beat the odds & cleared the worms after just one round of dewormer!

People were finally able to visit with the kiddos after they received their shots. Woo hoo! We got to share our little love bugs with the world. Over the course of the next few weeks, Brock & I brought the kids to a few adoption events & were blessed to find homes for Rotty, Big Girl & Jack Jr (aka JJ). Mind you, I was told that it would be unlikely that tthese little guys would no longer have worms & would likely need atleast 2 more rounds of dewormer to kill it..our hope was that the new owners were told this but we didn't do the adoption so who knows if that was communicated.

Anyway, about a week & a half ago we noticed that some of them had diarreah so Brock talked to the rescue about this & was told that it's completely normal for puppies to have it but to contact them if they start throwing up.

In the meantime, we started potty training & crate training Ellie. She & Buck were officially our two little babies & as Brock said, he finally had his Little Princess. We learned her cues for telling us she needed to go 'potty outside' & were really making progress..

Well, yesterday I had noticed the Pitz wasn't eating but was still drinking. I told Brock to stay with them for their evening feeding [since I was working] to make sure he ate. Well, when he got home he was cleaning the kid's pen before feeding them & saw Pitz have diarreah but this time with blood in it. He immediately freaked out, called the rescue & was again told that puppies have diarreah but to keep an eye on them & call them immediately if they throw up.

Fast forward to this morning. I woke up to a very quiet house..like creepy quiet. None of the puppies were barking & that is definitely not normal! I seriously thought they were dead. I noticed that Brock had put Ellie down with her siblings & so when I opened the basement door & saw 7 cute little faces greeting me at the bottom of the stairs, I sighed a breath of relief! When I went downstairs to clean their pen I noticed puke...son of a beaver! While I was bleaching everything out each pup proceeded to puke...Ellie, twice. Oh god!

I called one of my other contacts from the rescue who was scheduled to come over today for the pups second round of vaccinations to tell him. He was on his way to the vet so he was going to chat with them about symptoms & call me back.

Tick-tock. Tick-tock.

He began explaining that they couldn't get their shots today because they were sick but I also needed to bring one of the pups to the vet to be tested for Parvo. Hmm..tested? Just one? Yes & yes. Can I bring Buck just incase they test positive? Yes.

Since Pitz was the one we knew was sick [although, they were all throwing up this morning], I put him in a crate & brought him & Buck in. I was texting with Brock throughout the morning & during his limited down time at work, he was Googling what Parvo was.

I prayed the entire drive..seriously..that these sweet little babies didn't have it. I pulled in. They were expecting me. We went into the exam room & I put Pitz on the table. I also brought 'samples' of their stool & puke. During the exam, I noticed a shift in the demeanor of the vet. An 'Aww' at how adorable Pitz was to a look of concern because of apparent dehydration..mind you, he was drinking but not eating. She performed a swab for the test & told me results would be up in 8 minutes. She began examining Buck while we waited but was pulled away when the rescue called for an update. I waited.

Tick-tock. Tick-tock.

I was pulled into the reception area. They wanted to talk to me. I picked up the phone. "Hello." I went completely limp & tears immediately streamed down my face. "Nicole, we're dealing with an advanced case of Parvo & the most humane thing to do is put them all down."

I cried. And cried. And cried.

I pulled it together to receive the best news of the day. Buck does NOT have Parvo. Halelluia! But the vet commented that Pitz had A LOT of worms in the stool sample so I was sent home with medicine for Buck...remember, I asked for that earlier? A least somebody heard me. Finally.

I put him in the car. Dried my tears & headed home to pick up the rest of the kids. My kids.

Anyway, I pulled up to my house. Dropped Buck off in the living room & went down to get my kids for the last time. I couldn't bare to look at all of their beautiful faces. They probably thought it was strange that I wasn't bombarding them with kisses because everytime I picked them up out of the pen, that was what they got. Instead, I removed Ellie's collar & placed them all in the kennel.

The drive was a blur but when I arrived I brought them in...again, without looking at them because by that point I was already a crying mess...kind of like right now, actually. I asked that I not see the kids again because I already couldn't handle all of this...not my babies. Not my baby girl!

My contact from the rescue was in the lobby so I sat down across from her while she explained what Parvo was. The vet joined us & we began a discussion about 'What Next.'

I'll bare you the details to how that went but basically, I needed to come home & bleach EVERYTHING and quarantine Buck.

I loaded up my kennels & headed to my quiet house. On the way, calling our vet to get Buck in because I needed piece of mind.

Poor Brock, only able to receive my texts & speak briefly to my crying mess through all of this. I cannot imagine what or how he was feeling...having to keep himself together for his students!

I stopped to pick up cleaning supplies then came back home to pick Bucky up for his appointment. Again, I was assured that he is fine. Thank the Lord. SERIOUSLY! I would DIE if something happend to him too!

All Brock & I wanted to do when we 'signed up' for this was save the lives of these puppies but instead here we were...having to put 7 of them down. Hell. Pure hell.

I'm now grieving the loss of my 7 babies...the therapy I had to grieve Jackson. Hell. Pure hell.

While I was at our vet I asked a number of questions I got mixed answers on earlier in the day...
What next? -- Again, bleach everything!
Can Brock & I transfer Parvo to our friend's dogs? Very unlikely unless you have it on your shoes or something...we're safe here because our 'pen cleaning shoes' are in the trash. Thank goodness.
Can Buck be around dogs? Wait at least 2-3 weeks as long as EVERTHING has been bleached but NO unvaccinated adult dogs & ABSOLUTELY no puppies in your house for at least 1 year!
Can Buck go down into the basement? Wait at least 2-3 weeks [we were told wait 1 year & wait 4 months earlier...]
What about any of Ellie's poop in our backyard? Make sure you clean it up completely but unfortunately Parvo will live outside for an indefinate amount of time.
What does that mean? Again, absolutely no unvaccinated adult dogs can be in your yard & you won't want to have a puppy for atleast 1 year...if ever!

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?!?!

I know we didn't do anything wrong but I feel like our calls for help went unheard. We called when we noticed any changes in the pups...seriously! Remember back to the worms scenario? Remember the first call when we noticed diarreah? Remember the second call?

Perhaps we could have persisted that they be seen by a vet when we noticed these things. Maybe if we would have, we would still have our 7 babies!

Why us, though? We thought we were doing something good by opening up our new home to puppies who would have otherwise not had a chance and now...well...they don't!

Life sucks sometimes & this just so happens to be one of them!

I am sorry for not updating any sooner & I apologize that this is what I have to report. I am mad today but more than anything, I am SO SAD today.

I will always love you Pitz, Tall Boy, Porkchop, Tiny Tim [aka Nomad], Fluffer McFlufferson, Seal & my little girl - Ellie Kay Greenhagen. You made me so happy in your short little lives & I am so grateful to have loved you each & every day!

1 dog & counting,
Nicole