This is kind of a long story, but just bear with me!
Getting a puppy is so exciting; his soft little body bouncing around, so cute and cuddly. My husband and I were over the moon the day we picked up our new seven week old puppy from the shelter on January 3rd this year, one day after his first vaccination, and nothing could've broken our spirits. He was the cutest little ball of fur on four legs in the world (still is). He has black fur with tan on his face, chest and legs, and he had blue eyes when we first got him, but they've changed since. We named him Zeus because of the blue eyes.
The first week was amazing; he was experiencing new things and making us laugh with his wobbly walking and he loved picking up things twice his size and running off with them. The best part of it was that he slept a lot during the day so we could cuddle with him...not so much at night - he was awake every two hours to go potty - we felt like we just had a baby. It was hectic.
I'm going to add in here that people don't realise this with puppies, but they are a lot of work. We were those people but luckily we didn't mind putting in the work, and luckily I don't work because what happened next took all my time and energy.
The day we got him, I noticed he had fleas, but it was the weekend and our vet was closed, so we waited until Monday to get treatment. We got Revolution and applied it that morning, the next morning, he vomited up a worm; it was gross. We got him from a shelter and they said that they had de-wormed him the Tuesday before, but told us to de-worm him again because his siblings had worms in their feces. So since Revolution is also for worms, the vet told us to wait until Friday for actual de-worming medicine. That Friday morning, exactly one week since we got him, he threw up ten - yes TEN - worms. The fact that I didn't vomit was a miracle. We took him to the vet, they checked him out and gave him the de-wormer and we returned home. This is where things really turned south. Over the next few days he pooped out probably between thirty and fifty worms; which was good because they were coming out, but poor baby. The worms he had called Roundworms, feed off their partially digested food before the nutrients are absorbed, so he must have been very malnourished.
But then that Sunday, nine days after we got him, we woke up and found that he was very lethargic, wouldn't eat or drink water and had a fever. He was eight weeks old and we haven't even taken out Pet Insurance for him yet. My husband was getting ready to leave for commercial diving training for three months. I kept an eye on Zeus throughout that day and took his temperature rectally and it was 39.4C, which meant a definite fever. I was scared. I strongly considered taking him to the vet, but my family convinced me that it wasn't necessary and that I was probably overreacting, so I left it. I kept taking his temperature, but only under his arm which with dogs isn't very accurate, but he cried when we inserted it rectally, so I didn't have a choice, but at least it was an indication. According to google, you have to add one degree to his temperature if you take it under his arm. Midnight his fever was at 40.6C, I ran to my dad and told him that I think I should take him to the vet, my dad told me to relax and that a dog's temperature has to be very high for something to happen, so I googled again and found that a cold wet cloth on his ears and paws would help, but to be careful not to bring his temperature down too quick. I stayed awake for a while longer, I couldn't sleep, not yet.
It was 1:30am Monday morning when he started shaking and convulsing in his sleep. His mouth was opening and closing as if he was chewing gum and his legs were contracting - I just knew it was a seizure and it was a nightmare to witness. I called my dad, who was still awake, and told him that Zeus was having a seizure. My dad rushed over and I phoned the 24-hour vet who was half an hour drive away. I explained to them what just happened, he thought maybe it was a seizure caused by low blood sugar since Zeus hadn't eaten that much that day and told me to give him a teaspoon of honey. While I'm on the phone with the vet, I picked Zeus up to drink water and he couldn't even stand up, so I put him back on the bed. Then he started crying, he was so shocked and disoriented and probably didn't feel too good. So the vet suggested the honey and then if he doesn't get better, to bring him in. My puppy was crying and the vet is telling me to monitor him. I was very panicked, so I told the vet that I would be bringing my puppy in right away, there was no time for monitoring. As I got ready to take him, I tried honey but we couldn't get his mouth open. I couldn't waste any more time, so we got in the car and rushed to the vet.
Finally got to the vet; felt like the longest drive of my life. Zeus was drooling excessively at this point, which happens after seizures. I had to wait, because he was busy with another dog and there was only one vet on duty, and let me tell you it was the longest wait of my life. After probably fifteen minutes, he saw us. Took Zeus' temperature and confirmed a fever at 40.3C, then tested his blood sugar, which turned out fine, then tested him for Parvo which is a dangerous disease in dogs, but it tested negative. So he gave him four injections, one for nausea, one antibiotic, a steroid and something else. Then he gave me the option to leave him there on a drip or take him home and if he doesn't eat by noon that day, I should take him to my vet near me and they should put him on a drip. I chose the later because I figured it's better if he is with me, but in hindsight I should've let him stayed there that night. Because the decision I made probably cost us more money and you'll see why.
I got to bed at 4am Monday morning. It was brutal. I woke up around 8am and phoned my vet to tell them what had happened and to make an appointment for noon in case he doesn't eat. They suggested I bring him in at 8:30am so they could monitor him throughout the day. That sounded like such a good idea at the time, so I took him over there for the day. At one o'clock I phoned to ask how he was and asked when I could pick him up, they said 4pm. When I got there, they informed me that according to their observation, Zeus was fine and that he ate the food they gave him (which was wet cat food from a tin), so I took him home. I cooked him some chicken the day before to get him to eat, so I had some left over for Monday night, but he barely ate any of it, which was weird because dogs love chicken. He also barely drank water. So of course I still felt that something was wrong.
The next day he still wouldn't eat the chicken or drink water, so I asked my mom to pick up a can of that delicious cat food they gave him the day before when they said that he apparently ate like a little piggy. The nurse at the vet gave my mom such a hard time that they ended up arguing because the nurse said my puppy was spoiled and that there was nothing wrong with him and that dogs play sick so they could sleep on the bed - yes my puppy sleeps on my bed. My mom was so upset when she got home, at least she got one can of the food. I took the cat food and mixed it with his regular food and he would pick the cat food out of the bowl. He wouldn't eat chicken, but he ate the cat food, but somehow it was my fault that he wouldn't eat. Meanwhile he only ate their food because it was so delicious and he couldn't resist. He was still very much sick and still wouldn't drink much water.
The next day (Wednesday) his ears were swollen but he didn't shake them excessively, and I could just see he wasn't well. He was at least eating his food mixed with the cat food. I phoned the vet to ask if they could just take his temperature, because I've been struggling to take it to make sure he didn't have a fever. He felt warm and the image of him having a seizure was still very much fresh in my mind. So they said I could bring him in. I just want to add in here that every time I got to this vet, they made me feel like I was paranoid and overreacting. It was horrible. So the doctor checked him out and said that everything was fine, I had nothing to worry about, and he did have a bit of a fever but she said it was because he was excited to see everyone. So I should've been happy, right? Wrong!
The next morning he had a swollen eye. I mean you can't make this stuff up. By this time we had spent about R3,000 on this new puppy and that excludes his adoption fee and the new bed and stuff we got him. This particular morning with his swollen eye, I couldn't get through to the vet. So after phoning probably ten times, I got in my car and drove there. When I got there I told them that he didn't want to eat the chicken that morning either and that he was very restless that night and it sounded like he had a cold. So they took him to the back to check him out, then called me back there to watch him eat their irresistible tin of cat food. It was a joke. The vet checked him out and said that she couldn't really look at his eye because of the swelling, so I have to take him home and come back later or the next day so they could examine.
Two o'clock that afternoon, I sent them a picture of his eye, it had a blue cloudy appearance and was opening up. They told me to give him some of the Petcam they gave me to take home, and then come once it's open enough to examine. So an hour later I went over there, greeted by an obvious 'you again' attitude. The nurse that had an argument with my mom barely spoke to me. They put some yellow drops in his eye to see if he had an ulcer, but the vet couldn't figure out what it was, she had to leave the room a few times to go read up on it. Finally she came back and said his whole eye was an ulcer. Now, an ulcer is like a sore on the cornea of the eye from something either poking or scratching the eye or if a chemical is spilled in the eye, like shampoo. Since his whole eye was an ulcer, she said it had to be chemicals. I told her that nothing spilled in his eye, he didn't have a bath since last Saturday, and unless he got it from the garden, it was impossible. She gave me eye drops and off I went.
His eye just got worse, the swelling was better, but the blue cloudiness was much worse. Then that night it seemed to me like his other eye was also starting. The next morning his other eye was definitely also forming the blue cloudiness, so I sent them a picture and they called for me to bring him in early that afternoon. Finally they were taking me serious. I took him in, they checked him out and a totally different doctor came and told me that I need to take him to go see an eye specialist, because they couldn't figure out what it was, and that it's not an ulcer because it doesn't affect both eyes. Which I knew because nothing spilled in my puppy's eyes! That was the last time they saw me.
That afternoon something else happened, which to this day we can't explain. After his vet visit, he peed everywhere in the house, every half an hour. It was weird because he wasn't drinking water, but I was putting chicken broth in his food. So we kept an eye on it, there was no blood in his urine and he was still a happy puppy, with only one exception - he wouldn't drink water.
The next day he was still not drinking water and when he peed four times in half an hour, I phoned another vet nearby. They were happy to help and told me to bring him in immediately cause he might be dehydrated. They checked him out, gave him an injection with antibiotics, an awesome drink called Oralade that helps dogs re-hydrate, and some canned food to help him recover as well.
She did tell us however, that if he doesn't drink that stuff or any water, that he could have rabies and there is no cure, but when we got home he couldn't drink enough of that stuff. The results were immediate, he was so full of energy and almost his old self. We did take some of his urine in the next day for testing and he didn't have any bladder infection either.
I took Zeus to the eye specialist one week later for his appointment. His left eye was completely cloudy, his right eye just slightly. The eye specialist narrowed it down to an Adenovirus and referred me to the Internal Medicine Specialist. Of course I googled Adenovirus when I got home and was so worried about Zeus and this potential virus that he has. The earliest appointment I could get with the other specialist was the next Monday. It felt like the longest weekend ever not knowing what is actually wrong with my puppy, he was practically blind in his left eye. It was horrible. So Monday arrived and we took him in, after telling the doctor everything, he told me that after talking with the eye specialist and everything else that happened, he suspects Infectious Canine Hepatitis (ICH) which is a type of Adenovirus and it's a very scarce disease in dogs that affect their liver specifically. So he kept him for testing for a few hours. We took him home and waited for the test results. In the meantime we were still putting eye drops in, but he was fit as a fiddle and eating and drinking.
Finally about two weeks later, we got the test results back and he tested positive for type-1 ICH. The results showed however that nothing else was wrong, there was no liver damage, which is something that Hepatitis is known for, no kidney damage and his immune system was good. The doctor said that dogs that he's seen with the virus, never pulls through and the fact that Zeus was healthy was a miracle. I told him that we prayed for this little puppy's full recovery so hard that it is the only explanation as to why he pulled through. I believe that with all my heart, because there is no medicine to cure this virus, it either works itself out or the dog dies.
I've wanted to return to my old vet so many times to tell them that it turns out my puppy that they said was 'fine' and 'spoiled' actually had a very scarce and dangerous virus living in his little body that could've killed him. He fought very hard against it and our prayers pulled him through. Zeus was such a trooper that at times he did seem normal, but not to me. I knew he wasn't fine because I saw him every second of the day and knew he wasn't normal at home. They are professionals and should've known better.
It has now been five weeks since he first got sick and his left eye which was basically blind, is pretty much completely fine. He had a follow up with the eye specialist and she said that since he is young, his eye could potentially heal 100% which I fully believe it will. There is still some cloudiness, but very, very little. He has to go for a follow-up liver test in three months, because the doctor says that they haven't studied many dogs with this virus (since it's so scarce) that they can't say how his liver will do in the long run, so they just want to keep an eye on it. I just have to keep an eye out for signs that would show liver failure.
Just yesterday Zeus started with puppy classes and I'm so excited for this little pups future. He is such a blessing to us, but, yes there is a but, if you're not willing to spend a lot of time and a lot of money on a dog, don't get one. When we got Zeus we had no idea we would end up spending R15,000 on him within the first three weeks that we had him, but we had to. Yes some of it unnecessary because of an incompetent vet. We do also blame the shelter for what happened, because they don't protect the puppies enough from viruses especially the ones that are taken away from their mother at four or five weeks old before their immune system has a chance to properly build. If we didn't have savings, I honestly don't know what we would've done.