the gods smiled on me. i only had to work briefly in the morning on thursday, and was able to keep the vet appointment. the pup seemed to like his travel bag. i definitely liked carrying him in it. he was perfectly content so long as he was close to me.
dr. schwartz examined the puppy. his temperature was normal. his mucous was not. the puppy was diagnosed with kennel cough. dr. schwartz declared him "a very sick dog". my heart sank. according to her, he was not moving around enough, not active enough for a puppy. he was prescribed oral antibiotics (amavox), as well as erythromycin ointment to ward off an eye infection. on top of all of this, the pup had fleas (easily prevented by a good breeder who cares enough to give them a $10 tube of flea medicine) so he was given frontline, the poor thing.
most troubling to dr. schwartz was the mysterious baggie of flagyl, as well as the rampant misspellings on the sheet from the kennel. not a vet record--just a sheet of paper scrawled with a record of vaccines, including:
on 7/25: neopar-"strait" (sic) parvo shot.
-the parvo virus is a big killer of puppies. it is recommended that they receive the parvo vaccine at or about 42 days of age (not once, at 35 days, as was the case with our pup), and again every 14-21 days until the puppy is of a certain age, as "there is potential for maternal antibody to interfere with the immune response to the original vaccination" (from vetvax's website).
on 8/12 and 8/23: van"gard" (sic) 5 plus
-vanguard five plus is a vaccine given to immunize, again, against parvo as well as canine distemper, hepatitis, adenovirus cough, parainfluenza, and coronavirus.
again, on 8/23: "panager" (panacur) 3- a dewormer also used to treat giardia.
on 8/29: "duptpuz". i still cannot figure out what this vaccine was for, or the name of the medicine they are describing: duramune, for distemper, hepatitis, influenza and parvo? does it mean "distemper"?
and a vaccination for "bortella" (sic)- meaning bordetella- which is kennel cough. this vaccine is considered inaffective among most vets, as the disease is often caused by multiple organisms, not just the bordetella bacteria, and the vaccine is not long lasting.
on 9/1: "ivernecting" (sic)- meaning ivermectin, a heartworm preventative/broad spectrum anti-parasite medication. ivermectin should be given very precisely, and in the opinion of some vets, should NOT be sold though catalogs. it has the potential for serious side effects if incorrectly used (from marvistavet.com).
as previously mentioned, the pup was sent home with drontal plus, a dewormer, which i administered to him, as well as the mysterious baggie of flagyl. one pill of flagyl was attempted, but this little puppy learned fast. he gobbled up the meaty casing and promptly spit out the pill.
known as metronidazole, flagyl is an antibiotic which is used in dogs and cats to treat protozoal infections including giardia, entamoeba, trichomonas, and balantidium. dr. schwartz found it alarming that our dog was sent home with this medication. what was it for? did our dog have a protozoal infection which we weren't told about? if our dog had giardia (which dr. schwartz considered as a possibility due to the administering of panacur coupled with the flagyl) we, as well as our cat, could potentially become infected.
due to our little puppy's sad state, and the amount of medication he had been given, dr. schwartz advised that i first find out what the flagyl was for before i tried to give him any more of it. she suggested that i be rather vague with my inquiry to the kennel, for fear that the kennel may not be honest with me should i seem too concerned. she also prescribed lots of rest for my sick boy, and warned me that he would very soon be developing a cough, which she demonstrated and described as dry and hacking.
brian had made it clear that should i decide to call tony at the kennel, i should not expect for him to be courteous and understanding....at this point i had lost track of all of the red flags, the chain of events that led me to this place of tending to a sick puppy, feeling like i was at the mercy of an uncaring kennel owner, and fearing the worst.
my conversation with t went something like this:
"may i speak with t?"
"WHO'S THIS?"
"my name is noelle, and my husband, brian, bought a french bulldog puppy from you."
"WHAT DAY?"
"um...this was on tuesday."
"YEAH?"
"the puppy is adjusting nicely, but i attempted to give him the flagyl--you had written it as "fragel"- and he spit it out. i thought i could get something he'd like better from my vet. what was the flagyl for?"
"JUST GIVE HIM THE PILL. HE HAS TO HAVE IT. HOW MANY HAS HE HAD?"
"well, i tried to give him one, but he spit it out. what's it for?"
"HE NEEDS TO TAKE IT! TWO OF THEM A DAY!"
"two a day? it says to take for ten days..."
"HOW MANY PILLS ARE THERE?"
" i haven't counted them...quite a lot"
"WELL, IF THERE ARE TWENTY PILLS, THEN TWO A DAY!"
"can you tell me what they're for?"
"FOR PARASITES AND WORMS AND STUFF"
"for giardia?"
"JUST PUT THE PILL IN A PIECE OF CHEESE AND GIVE IT TO HIM!"
"ok. thanks. bye."
i hung up and cried. i tried to reach brian, but i couldn't. i had a sick dog who could have had giardia....brian just paid a large sum of money to a guy who could obviously care less about this animal. the lump in my throat grew larger.
i called dr. schwartz. i was beginning to panic. she assured me that it was highly unlikely that the puppy had giardia. that if he did, the damage was done. that if he did, he would likely have diarrhea and be vomiting. later, i would come to view this as feeling spared, that with so much agony, at the least my dear cat of nine years remains safe and healthy.
she said that we'd watch him, that there were medications he could take later if he needed the flagyl for anything.
watch him i did. like a hawk. later that evening, as if on cue, he developed the dry, hacking cough. we continued our routine-- water, pee, treat, nap, water, pee, treat, dinner-- but without the play. he needed to rest.
dr. schwartz examined the puppy. his temperature was normal. his mucous was not. the puppy was diagnosed with kennel cough. dr. schwartz declared him "a very sick dog". my heart sank. according to her, he was not moving around enough, not active enough for a puppy. he was prescribed oral antibiotics (amavox), as well as erythromycin ointment to ward off an eye infection. on top of all of this, the pup had fleas (easily prevented by a good breeder who cares enough to give them a $10 tube of flea medicine) so he was given frontline, the poor thing.
most troubling to dr. schwartz was the mysterious baggie of flagyl, as well as the rampant misspellings on the sheet from the kennel. not a vet record--just a sheet of paper scrawled with a record of vaccines, including:
on 7/25: neopar-"strait" (sic) parvo shot.
-the parvo virus is a big killer of puppies. it is recommended that they receive the parvo vaccine at or about 42 days of age (not once, at 35 days, as was the case with our pup), and again every 14-21 days until the puppy is of a certain age, as "there is potential for maternal antibody to interfere with the immune response to the original vaccination" (from vetvax's website).
on 8/12 and 8/23: van"gard" (sic) 5 plus
-vanguard five plus is a vaccine given to immunize, again, against parvo as well as canine distemper, hepatitis, adenovirus cough, parainfluenza, and coronavirus.
again, on 8/23: "panager" (panacur) 3- a dewormer also used to treat giardia.
on 8/29: "duptpuz". i still cannot figure out what this vaccine was for, or the name of the medicine they are describing: duramune, for distemper, hepatitis, influenza and parvo? does it mean "distemper"?
and a vaccination for "bortella" (sic)- meaning bordetella- which is kennel cough. this vaccine is considered inaffective among most vets, as the disease is often caused by multiple organisms, not just the bordetella bacteria, and the vaccine is not long lasting.
on 9/1: "ivernecting" (sic)- meaning ivermectin, a heartworm preventative/broad spectrum anti-parasite medication. ivermectin should be given very precisely, and in the opinion of some vets, should NOT be sold though catalogs. it has the potential for serious side effects if incorrectly used (from marvistavet.com).
as previously mentioned, the pup was sent home with drontal plus, a dewormer, which i administered to him, as well as the mysterious baggie of flagyl. one pill of flagyl was attempted, but this little puppy learned fast. he gobbled up the meaty casing and promptly spit out the pill.
known as metronidazole, flagyl is an antibiotic which is used in dogs and cats to treat protozoal infections including giardia, entamoeba, trichomonas, and balantidium. dr. schwartz found it alarming that our dog was sent home with this medication. what was it for? did our dog have a protozoal infection which we weren't told about? if our dog had giardia (which dr. schwartz considered as a possibility due to the administering of panacur coupled with the flagyl) we, as well as our cat, could potentially become infected.
due to our little puppy's sad state, and the amount of medication he had been given, dr. schwartz advised that i first find out what the flagyl was for before i tried to give him any more of it. she suggested that i be rather vague with my inquiry to the kennel, for fear that the kennel may not be honest with me should i seem too concerned. she also prescribed lots of rest for my sick boy, and warned me that he would very soon be developing a cough, which she demonstrated and described as dry and hacking.
brian had made it clear that should i decide to call tony at the kennel, i should not expect for him to be courteous and understanding....at this point i had lost track of all of the red flags, the chain of events that led me to this place of tending to a sick puppy, feeling like i was at the mercy of an uncaring kennel owner, and fearing the worst.
my conversation with t went something like this:
"may i speak with t?"
"WHO'S THIS?"
"my name is noelle, and my husband, brian, bought a french bulldog puppy from you."
"WHAT DAY?"
"um...this was on tuesday."
"YEAH?"
"the puppy is adjusting nicely, but i attempted to give him the flagyl--you had written it as "fragel"- and he spit it out. i thought i could get something he'd like better from my vet. what was the flagyl for?"
"JUST GIVE HIM THE PILL. HE HAS TO HAVE IT. HOW MANY HAS HE HAD?"
"well, i tried to give him one, but he spit it out. what's it for?"
"HE NEEDS TO TAKE IT! TWO OF THEM A DAY!"
"two a day? it says to take for ten days..."
"HOW MANY PILLS ARE THERE?"
" i haven't counted them...quite a lot"
"WELL, IF THERE ARE TWENTY PILLS, THEN TWO A DAY!"
"can you tell me what they're for?"
"FOR PARASITES AND WORMS AND STUFF"
"for giardia?"
"JUST PUT THE PILL IN A PIECE OF CHEESE AND GIVE IT TO HIM!"
"ok. thanks. bye."
i hung up and cried. i tried to reach brian, but i couldn't. i had a sick dog who could have had giardia....brian just paid a large sum of money to a guy who could obviously care less about this animal. the lump in my throat grew larger.
i called dr. schwartz. i was beginning to panic. she assured me that it was highly unlikely that the puppy had giardia. that if he did, the damage was done. that if he did, he would likely have diarrhea and be vomiting. later, i would come to view this as feeling spared, that with so much agony, at the least my dear cat of nine years remains safe and healthy.
she said that we'd watch him, that there were medications he could take later if he needed the flagyl for anything.
watch him i did. like a hawk. later that evening, as if on cue, he developed the dry, hacking cough. we continued our routine-- water, pee, treat, nap, water, pee, treat, dinner-- but without the play. he needed to rest.
posted by nowlze at 5:54 AM
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