Puppy Problems

We have officially had Charlie for a whole week now. It has been a very long week. Normal puppy obstacles alone are tiring, but since Thursday we have had a very rough time. Thanks to me being paranoid, good vet care and lots of puppy prayers, it seems now that the worst is over and I have some time to sit down and play catch up about everything going on with us, so here we go!

When Josh got home from work on Wednesday, Charlie was so excited to see him that he did not want to let him go anywhere alone. This week in Colorado, we have had some seriously cold and snowy days and Charlie REALLY hates being outside...I think it must be a combination of him being so small and the cold ground hurting his little feet. Anyway, Josh went outside to smoke a cigarette (a yucky habit of his that we are trying to break before the wedding *wink*) and Charlie wanted to go. Since Charlie hates being outside, I went to in order to hold him (uhm, yes he is the most spoiled creature ever). Everything was going great, Josh and I were just talking when all of a sudden Charlie apparently saw something he wanted. He began squirming and being out of control and took a diving leap out of my arms. Somehow, I sort of half caught him and he squirmed again and fell probably 3 feet from my hands and landed on his side on the concrete. I could hear the air being knocked out of him...and then he started screaming. Screaming is the only word I can use to describe the sound he was making, it was high pitched, terrified, hurt and HORRIBLE. I scooped him up and he kept crying so Josh took him and he relaxed. I felt SO bad, I was crying so worried about him. We felt him all over and tested his walking and everything seemed okay, but I was still worried so we called the Emergency Vet and they said it happened all the time and unless he started pooping or puking blood he would be okay. I did not sleep much that night, I kept waking up to make sure he was okay. All we could do at this point was wait and see.

On Thursday after he ate his breakfast, I noticed that Charlie really did not want to do anything. He would play for me for a few minutes but then he would just collapse on the floor, and fall asleep. I know that puppies are big sleepers but this seemed really unusal to me. I am the type of person doctors hate because I Google EVERYTHING. I know all about every disease, sickness, and symptom in the book, and often it brings little solace. Usually, I end up freaking myself out more. I was definitely on the lookout for puppy concussion. Because of his odd behavior, I was really watching him closely all day. He just seemed so tired, and he wanted to be on me. He would not sleep on the floor, the couch, his kennel, he wanted to sleep in my arms. This was also very odd. Around noon I decided he should get up and go potty and get some exercise so I put him on the floor and he would just lay down. I took him to his water and he would turn his head away from the bowl like he was going to gag. I just kept getting more and more worried. I decided to call our family vet, a sweet little old man who runs his practice like a country doctor. When I took him in, I mentioned his fall and the vet assured me nothing was wrong and his sleepyness was probably due to a little puppy cold (Charlie had a runny nose).

Basically, I had to accept the fact that the dog was fine and I was just being paranoid. Everyone was making fun of me and telling me I worried too much. I had to just laugh it off because we had just gotten a clean bill of health from the vet. However, as the night went on, I just began worrying more. He had started to become really listless and lethargic. He was crawling under our coffee table and just laying there, staring off into space. I know for a fact that when a dog is sick, or God forbid, dying they always go off on their own and try to hide. Still more worrying. He would not eat or drink. More worrying. My last straw was when he finally cuddled up to me and his nose felt super hot and he put his front paws and his nose in my hand. I noticed almost immediately that the pads on the bottom of his front feet were swollen to almost twice their size. When I put him down to see if he could walk, he was walking with his legs stiff, not bending at all and on the very tiptoes like it hurt him. Then he would plop down and start licking his feet. I could tell they were bugging him. He just looked sick. Bleary eyes, bulging tummy. hot nose, diarrhea...we called the puppy hospital at 2:00 a.m, when I could no longer take his suffering.

We loaded him up and made the short drive to the animal ER and met with the very sweet night vet there. She said he didn't have a high temperature and he was acting okay, she also said any of his symptoms were probably not from his little fall. I wanted to be absolutely sure that he was okay so they ran 3 tests: parvo, giardia and worms. Seriously, 20 minutes later the tests were back. They were so fast and professional and sweet when I was so worried. They informed us that Charlie baby had Giardia, a nasty intestinal parasite that is not uncommon with small puppies. She told us to be super glad it was not Parvo because almost all puppies lose that battle, but that we could probably solve this bug pretty easily. We were prescribed a deworming medicine and sent home. $350 later and we had a sick, sad puppy and a bottle of medicine we prayed would solve the issue.

It's been 3 days since that scary vet visit and Charlie has been improving in leaps and bounds. The medicine is really chalky and yucky and he hates it, but he is a really good boy. We found out that it really wipes him out. After he takes it, he sleeps for about 3 hours before he is even up for doing anything else. But I am happy because he has been playing more each day and he is even eating with enthusiasm today. Who knew a puppy you only had for a week could worry you so much? It's amazing how fast we fell in love. Hopefully, these hurdles will pass soon and Josh and I can pay attention to each other a little more. Haha, we have definitely experienced what happens when a couple has a child...it definitely changes everything. Although its a change, its a good thing and we are so happy and blessed to have our little Charlie bug.