Cody and Cooper both have Bordatella aka Kennel Cough! Even though they are both vaccinated every 6 months for Bordatella, it apparently doesn't give you any sort of guarantee. Coop is starting his 15th day of antibiotics (1 month regimen) and Cody is just finishing his first week's worth. Cooper has had it the worst between the two of them. Hacking so much he throws up, projectile vomiting, drooling, runny nose, goopy eyes and of course the cough. Cody has the runny nose, goopy eyes and has just started the cough. I hope his doesn't get as bad as Coop's. Now this isn't too bad. I love my babies and will take care of them every minute they need it. What's bad then? OUR FOSTER DOG, IVAN!!! That's right. We have a foster pup and have had him for 16 days now. He is only 6-8 weeks old. He is a tyrant, but that is another story LOL. Apparently puppies don't have strong immune systems since they haven't been around long enough for it to build up. So he is SICK! It sounds like he has pneumonia (they checked and he doesn't). Like a kid with croup. He coughs and coughs and coughs and coughs. Not only does he cough, he spits up phlegmy stuff every time he coughs. His nose is running which is making him spit up more stuff as it runs down his throat. It is soooo gross! And then to make matters even worse, he has two types of parasites. Coccydia (don't know if I spelled that right or not) and round worms. I have never had to deal with worms before and let me tell you, it is N-A-S-T-Y!!
I feel sorry for Ivan as he is only a little pup but he doesn't do a good job of playing the "poor, sick puppy" role. He bites, bites, chews and did I say "bites?" He jumps on you and bites, jumps at you and bites, runs at you and bites, sneaks up to you and bites.....We have our hands full to say the least.
So back to the sick house...Cody and Coop are both on a month's worth of Doxycycline. The puppy, Ivan, is on 2 weeks of Doxycycline, 2 weeks of Amoxycillin, and a week of Albon. He has had 3 dewormers too. I am giving so many meds around here that I forget to take my own! The worst part is that Ivan was supposed to be neutered yesterday which would have meant we would only be fostering him for another couple days, but since he is so sick, the neuter has been postponed until next week and most likely we will have him until his meds are gone...at least.
The scary thing is that Kennel Cough (called such because it is prevelant in areas where dogs are confined in close quarters such as kennels, groomers, vets, dog shows etc...) is still contagious for 1-2 months AFTER symptoms have subsided. I am so afraid they will just keep passing it back and forth to each other. No dog parks, no Petsmart etc...for a couple months at least. Tomorrow they get their 2nd round of Bordatella vaccinations so far this year. I have been told that if they hadn't had the vaccine, they would have been a lot more sick. So I am very glad that we keep them up to date on all their vaccines, even if my husband thinks they are a scam now that they both have come down with something they were vaccinated for.
I can hardly eat because all I can think about is the germs. How do you disinfect hard wood floors? Ugh...this is going to be a long 2 weeks until Ivan can be put up for adoption. And before you think I am horrible, when he went to the vet clinic, I had dropped him off because I had to work. I dropped him off about noon and said I would be back at 4:00pm. At 12:45 the vet called and said Ivan was done and she had all his meds ready to go. She said "now when are you coming to get him?" (like she didn't already know) I said "4:00pm as both my husband and I have to work." She said "4:00? Oh my gosh...ok. Well, he is going off over here (he screeches this high pitched screech all day long and during the night some too. It used to be most of the night). I guess it will be a long day." Yes, the vet who works at an animal shelter, who deals with dogs, puppies, cats and kittens all day, every day, was exasperated by Ivan. He is just a handful. Needless to say, we will not be fostering puppies again. Dogs, yes. Puppies, no.
Wish me luck!
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