Golden Retriever (medium coat) : : Male : : Baby
Learn more about the Golden Retriever.
On April 24, 2024, we received a call from an emergency veterinarian in Peoria– they said a Good Samaritan had “found” four sick Golden Retriever puppies and brought them to the ER. The two males and two females were thought to be 2 to 3 months old. One of the puppies was quite ill – was vomiting and had bloody diarrhea; the other three had milder symptoms. The sickest one tested positive for parvovirus, so all the puppies had at least been exposed. Would we take them? Of course. The AGR transporter picked them up at the ER and took them all to Animal Medical & Surgical Center for 24-hour specialty emergency care. All of the puppies tested positive for parvo. There is no specific treatment for parvo – either a puppy is going to survive the disease or won’t. However, supportive care is given with fluids, anti-nausea medication, nasal feeding tubes and antibiotics to ward off possible secondary infections. Fortunately, all four puppies survived. All have been adopted with addenda given for neuters or spays when the puppies are about one year old. They are all in the process of being fully vaccinated, but are too young to need testing for valley fever or heartworm. The two girls were placed as soon as they were well enough to leave the hospital (one in two days, one in three). The boys were both fostered by our Intake Co-manager who had fostered parvo puppies for AGR in the past. She was familiar with the clean-up protocol – pick up poop immediately and douse the area with bleach. The virus is transmitted in the feces and can remain viable in the environment for up to a year, so the adopters were all cautioned to use the same protocol. 24-025 Chandler was renamed Che by his adopters who live in Chandler. He was the largest of the four puppies, but he was also the sickest. He was at AMSC for 7 days until he was well enough to go for foster care. The foster already had Ross with her and the two boys enjoyed playing with each other. Ross left after just a couple days; the foster reported that Chandler started barking at stuffed toys trying to get them to play with him! He became more energetic by the day. However, he had a recurrence of the vomiting and diarrhea and had to visit the ER again. He was also kept in foster care until his soft stools resolved. His first night at his new home was rough – he spent the night barking in the crate even though the adopter was nearby on the couch. The foster mom had coached the family that Chandler would nap after eating but she would wake him up at least 30 minutes before bedtime and play hard with him to tire him out. Apparently this procedure worked because we had no more reports about the puppy not sleeping at night. The adopter reported: Che has brought so much love and joy into our house. He enjoys going to work with [her husband] (in his home office) and swimming is a favorite! Though he does enjoy the pool, he’ll choose a mud puddle anytime! He is a lover and quickly enchants anyone who comes over. We can’t wait to see Che grow into a strong young dog and this Monday (07/08) he’ll be able to go ‘out and about’ with us and we can’t wait to see him on that adventure! Adventures are endless with puppies, but also priceless experiences!
Other Pictures of Chandler/Che (click to see larger version):
|