Pawcurious Vet Blog: Pet help, stories, and information with Dr. V

We are all inspired by our pets- to be kind, to give a little more than we take, to play hard and snuggle a ton and enjoy every little moment in life. They encourage us to connect with one another. And they push us to do a little more.

Last week, an hour before closing, a family came in with a 4 pound, 10 week old poodle puppy. She was vomiting, had diarrhea, and no history of vaccinations. They had just enough money to confirm the diagnosis of parvo. Her white blood cell count was 1, meaning the parvo was in her marrow. This was bad. Very bad.

The little dog was very very ill. Her prognosis was poor, but rather than euthanize her, the family agreed to relinquish her so that we could at least give her a shot at life. One night, I said. She will have one night at least.

A dog that critically ill should have a blood transfusion. Things go downhill very fast in those conditions. But, we’re not an emergency facility and we weren’t equipped to do anything remotely like that. And who would donate, anyway? It was the end of the day.

You know where this is going, right?

The shaved places explained.

It wasn’t well done, mind you. The circumstances were far from ideal, the equipment jury rigged and dug out of the back of the broom closet where we keep stuff that never gets used. But at that point, what did we have to lose?

I came in the next morning, cringing as I looked into the iso ward, expecting a dead puppy. Except she wasn’t dead. Brody, meet your damsel in distress.

Despite all odds, she survived and will be discharged tonight. Brody’s Beasty Blood saved the day! (Don’t worry, I made up the indignity of donating to him in spades. In buckets.)

Brody is my hero. Already, at 5 months old. How I love him.

Thanks for coming along for the ride.