When I woke up after a nap early this morning, Johnson had started down the road of Parvo: bloody stools.
He is still hydrated from the fluids given under the skin, but he's fought a tough fight, and now it's time to ask the question: is it enough?
Walter, my Boxer, and Johnson's whole reason for being here, is depressed and worried.
In this picture, he's watching his friend and companion go through hell, as I could not stop the vomitting either.
The house is a wreck, the laundry is going cleaning all of the bedding I'm using to make Johnson comfortable.
I've seen Parvo before, so this is not something new, but even if you've seen it, it's still the most terrible thing to have to witness. And especially the fight my little guy is putting up, hurting, and miserable.
But it's a question of how long to let this go on. Animals have a different nature, they will fight to live. They are here because they love us, their owners, and their pals, like Walter.
I don't know, and I won't make a decision yet. We have a Monday appointment with the vet, and hopefully, we can make that appointment.
Without the fluids Johnson would already be gone. I'm not sure though that prolonging is necesarilly the answer, but this thing can be beat if caught in time. And it depends on the dog.
My Johnny "rotten" wants to live it seems, so I'll keep trying. It will be another long day, but I'll do all I can to make it easy on him.
Poor thing took a drink of Pedialyte on his own earlier, but it came up ten minutes later. He can have absolutely nothing on his stomach. And the standard, other horrible feature of Parvo is the bloody stools. It's hard to take, but that's the only way out of this thing is through it: it has to run it's course.
All the Parvo symptoms are here, none of this is questionable or surprising. It's all about hydration and giving him the will to live.
I told him his mama has been fighting health problems for years, and if he wants to stay with us, he's going to have to make it out of this, somehow, some way.
I love that dog so much. I didn't cry much at first, as I'm trying to be strong, but this morning, seeing him so uncomfortable, I broke down several times.
It's been 20 years since I've seen an outbreak of Parvo like this, but this valley has some unique characteristics regarding pet diseases.
I've tried the Benadryl to stop the vomiting but it didn't do anything. I just want him to relax and sleep, as that is the best thing for him.
But he's so uncomfortable he can't stay still. I just noticed when I sang to him his "Johnny rotten" song, he layed his head back down. Maybe I'll just sing to him. Noboby else finds my singing voice that comforting, so Johnson is certainly a special friend.
Hopefully....more later
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