the close call

well as you probably could tell, i was m.i.a. last week and while i wanted to update you all, i was a little exhausted and overwhelmed with worry, so i waited. i told you about our newest little addition, bowie week before last and almost immediately things took a turn for the worse. you see, when we picked up bowie (actually, when we first visited him in the shelter) we noticed he had a cough.  the shelter attendees assured us they would hold onto him if they deemed it something contagious, if he had a fever, or if they thought it was something very serious.  since they released him to us on tuesday after his surgery, we thought nothing of it, but noticed the cough was still there.

 bowie at his first vet visit

the next day, we took him to our vet for his general wellness exam and i asked about the cough, when they took his temperature it was at 105, and the vet was very worried about that.  they took blood and other samples to run tests for canine influenza and distemper, and sent us home with some medicine and instructions for getting bowie healthy. on thursday, we were trying everything we knew how to get the poor little guy to eat but to almost no avail, and by the time i got home from work, things were much, much worse.  bowie was resting in his bed and when i went to go see if we wanted to go outside, he attempted to get out of bed and his hind legs all but gave out on him. (meanwhile, the cough is progressing into hacks and wheezing)  i was filled with worry. i took bowie to the vet immediately and she called for a chest x-ray. when she showed me the film, it revealed that his lungs were cloudy and filled with gunk; her prognosis was that whatever it is he first contracted, had now progressed into pneumonia.  all i could do was cry. for a little guy like bowie, especially given that he'd just come from the shelter and had surgery, this could be deadly. they gave him breathing treatments, injected a saline bag for hydration, and sent me home with more medicine, instructions, and truth be told, fear that he would die.

roxy being a good (tolerant) big sis letting bowie snuggle

for the next few days, i hand-fed bowie boiled chicken and steamed rice with broth, force fed him his medicine, and gave him all the love i could.  his recovery was nothing short of amazing. in those first few days, he gained strength, got to eating on his own, and started being a little more playful.  by the time monday rolled around, we went back to the vet and his fever had subsided and his lungs were clearing...but we were not out of the woods yet. we continued to monitor his cough (which sounded so yucky, but the vet assured me it was better to have the hacking than the wheezing), kept his activity light, and made sure to routinely give his medicines.

and here we are, two weeks (and many vet bills) later, and bowie is just about at 100%. he goes to the vet for his final (we hope) check on thursday to make sure everything is clear. i can't be more thankful for the kind, patient vets, techs and employees at our vet office, they were most understanding and caring with me throughout that whole ordeal. and they assured us that bowie was one lucky dog - if he would have stayed in the shelter, this could have gone unnoticed and he would have almost certainly died, they might have euthanized him, or he could have been adopted to a family who could not, or would not, have taken care of his illness.

we are so happy that bowie is back to his fun, ornery, playful, healthy self. and we hope to share many, many more stories (better, happier ones!!).

thanks for sticking around and reading, kisses from all of us :) xoxo