I’m a little bit of a wreck right now so I’m sorry if this all sounds disjointed. My puppy, about 12 weeks old, is not doing well. My husband is rushing home now to take him to the vet. He’s been a healthy, happy, bouncy puppy, full of energy and enthusiasm but today, something is clearly wrong. Overnight, he looks like he’s lost weight, and he won’t eat or drink or anything. I gave him his favorite wet food, tried to ply him with treats but he refuses. He even refused a T-bone covered in all kinds of bits of meat and fat, normally one of his favorite treats.
I went out to check on him a little while ago and couldn’t find him. I searched high and lo, knowing that he couldn’t have left the yard (it’s walled in). I finally found him laying under a bush. He refused to come out no matter how much I tried to plead with him. I can hardly bring myself to say that it seems for all the world that he had crawled off looking for a place to… leave me.
And the worst part is that I am useless. I don’t know what to do. I’m frozen in fear and heartbreak and worry and I don’t even know what else. He may be young but he’s already stolen my heart totally and completely. I have never had a better dog - he is sweet and loyal and already very protective. He has such a great nature.
I love him to pieces, and I’m so terrified that I’m about to lose him. I;'m just trying not to go nuts while I wait for my husband to get here. I’m trying to stay optimistic, but I’m really so shattered at the moment just to see him in the state he is in.
Just needed to vent a little. Please think good thoughts for Jerry Lee. I wish I had a picture handy to share, but he’s a beautiful German/Lab mix with humongous ears and an even bigger heart.
Thanks for the well wishes everyone, it means a lot to me. We’ve just gotten back from the vet, and it turns out he’s got a pretty serious case of canine tick fever. The vet injected him with all kinds of meds to fight the infection and hopefully restore him to puppy health, but the next two days will tell whether everything turns out okay. Because he’s so young, things are a little bit dodgy, but the vet says the fact that we brought him in so quickly greatly improves the chances that he’ll turn around, so hopefully this will all just be a momentary nightmare. If he’s any worse in the morning, we’ll have to take him to the animal hospital to be treated.
I’ve already promised him his very own steak when he gets better, so hopefully he takes me up on that offer
Oh how heartbreaking. I remember a similar terror when my own German shepherd/lab mix puppy, who had been with us for all of a day, went missing; she had somehow escaped from her kennel. We went searching high and low, calling, “Puppy! Puppy!” because we hadn’t even named her yet. Fortunately we found her under an abandoned shack on our property. She soon earned the nickname “Houdini” for her ability to free herself from increasingly secure levels of confinement. But she’s still with us, an old lady of 14 years, having survived a few close calls. I think we can say that shepherd/lab mixes are pretty hardy.
Best wishes for little Jerry. The canine clan at Casa Scarlett is pulling for him. :: scritchies ::
Fingers are crossed here. Which BTW makes it damn hard to type. Keep us posted.
Steak if he gets better? If there is such a thing as reincarnation, I want to come back as a dog in your household.
My Dad just put his (and my) dog, Farley to sleep, it was sad, but the dog was 12 years old and had kidney failure, so we knew it was for the best.
We compared it to years ago putting a border collie puppy (named Kazz) to sleep after loving him for five months. He had severe hip problems and was in pain (you would never know it) and would probably be crippled for life.
Losing a puppy was worse and nearly killed us with grief.
Fortunately we found her under an abandoned shack on our property. She soon earned the nickname “Houdini” for her ability to free herself from increasingly secure levels of confinement. But she’s still with us, an old lady of 14 years, having survived a few close calls. I think we can say that shepherd/lab mixes are pretty hardy.