saturday i didn't have to work until four. brian watched him for a bit, followed by "the nanny" and her friend. somehow it seemed to work out and he was never alone. i am so grateful for that.

saturday consisted of wiping his nose, trying to get him to eat and drink. feeding him drops of honey on a spoon to ease his cough. he was beginning to look skinnier, dehydrated. his breathing seemed fast and labored. i kept trying to bring myself back to all of the advice i had gotten from so many different people:

.... "my dog had kennel cough. it can be rough, but it'll be ok."
...."he's on antibiotics? you're doing everything right. think of all of the dogs in brooklyn who don't have shelter and food tonight. he''ll be fine"
...."dogs and cats bounce back so fast. after a couple of days, they perk up and feel fine."


work was rough. a late night. i missed my boys, all members of my menagerie, including my husband. it was officially september 11, and on the way home my driver took the long way around lower manhattan, directly passed the world trade center. i took it as a bad sign.

at home, the littlest one wasn't doing well. once he was calm enough, i began to count his breaths per minute. 66 at their slowest....i was too frightened to count them at their highest. he hadn't eaten much. we were really worried at this point. it just seemed like the air wasn't getting in.

we made the decision to find a 24 hour veterinary facility and take him there. we put him in his bag and were off to the fifth avenue veterinary specialists. i assured him that after this, we would drive up and down the street once a day, so that the car wouldn't always mean thermometers, poking, prodding, and cold steel tables.

the next day at work, our littlest guy somehow named himself. of all of the names, the preferences of my most trusted friends, the adorable options.....he was "milo". it just seemed right, and i didn't want to have the people in the hospital view him as some anonymous "new puppy". he was named. milo.

here is the email i sent out to all of my peeps; everyone whom i'd asked about names, everyone who congratulated me, who send me treats, gifts, picture frames, nylabones:

"dear friends and family,
as you may know, brian recently surprised me with the
light of my life, a french bulldog puppy whom we have
affectionately named milo.

sadly, little milo (and i do mean little) has had to be
hospitalized for what appears to be aspirated
pneumonia as a result of bordetella (kennel cough).
milo is currently at the fifth avenue veterinary
specialists, where he is quiet and stable.
radiographs show his lung lobes to be hazy (indicative
of pneumonia), and he is receiving oxygen, as his
oxygen levels were at 88% last night, as opposed to a
healthy 95-99%. he is on IV fluids, which should
produce the most marked change in how he is feeling,
and he has also been given nebulized droplets (similar
to the effect of a humidifier) coupled with massage
from the vet techs. naturally, he has quickly become
a favorite of the staff, as he is 100% irresistable.

he is truly under excellent care, and his prognosis is
good. fifth avenue veterinary specialists are among
the best in the country; members of their staff have
been awarded directorial positions with the aspca, and
they are known for their charity work with abused
animals throughout new york city. the facility itself
is impressive-- essentially a people hospital!

we'll keep you updated as to milo's recovery. he is
scheduled to have a transtracheal wash, in which a
culture will be obtained in order to determine what is
causing his pneumonia so that the absolute best course
of treatment can be determined. he will need to be
sedated for this, so please keep him in your thoughts,
prayers and good intentions. ...and give your vet a
hug; these people do amazing things for our animals
and for us.

xo,
noelle"