My Thanksgiving Break took an unexpected turn on Thanksgiving Day. We brought my 15 week old puppy out to the country to celebrate Thanksgiving at my aunt and uncle’s new place. Now normally, my puppy, Bagheera, a black chow/lab/German shepherd mix (so we’ve heard), is quite an excited dog. However, on that particular day, he seemed fairly well behaved and calm, or so we thought.
I’ll start from the very beginning.
Thanksgiving Morning: He had thrown up once in the morning bu seemed fairly normal on the drive down there, a little over an hour. Overall, he seemed okay and walked around the property as he might normally, but the firs sign was that he did not drink any water. Out of the four hours or so that we were there, he maybe only took a few small sips.
Thanksgiving-Late Afternoon: He threw up twice, and I’m talking huge, heaping piles of chunky mess before we left. This happened once more in my car on the way home. It looked like everything he had ever eaten, ever, came out of him. So, we got home and he went straight to my room. I assumed that being in a new environment had worn him out, so I let him rest.
Thanksgiving night: I started to worry around 7 or 8 o’clock. Whenever I went to play with him or pet him, he could only stare up at me. I tried to stand him up and he simply fell back on his side and shied away from me. This is when I truly became worried. I had him in the Emergency vet clinic by 9:30.
Now, I must warn that the emergency clinic is much more expensive that your average family veterinarian’s office. But, it was Thanksgiving, and it was all that was open. We later discovered that our local pet hospital wouldn’t even have vets in the office for the rest of the weekend. Anyway, a vet and a vet tech examined him and mentioned 3 possibilities: 1. Intestinal worms 2. Parvovirus 3. Intestinal obstruction. They took some tests. He had number 1 and 2.
Honestly, I felt completely devastated upon hearing my puppy, of which I had only had for a little over a month and a half, had parvovirus. I could hardly hold back my sadness in front of the vet tech. I started feeling guilty and blaming myself for not getting his vaccinations sooner. I pretty much felt hopeless from all of the previous horror stories I had heard about puppies contracting parvo. Still, the vet informed me that my puppy could have been carrying it for weeks already and that there was no way of knowing when the vaccinations took effect (puppies can catch parvo during their round of parvo vaccinations or, rarely, catch the virus from the vaccinations themselves). No matter what they told me though, I still felt completely responsible for the pain he was feeling.
The vet worked up an expense sheet for two treatment options, either in-patient or out-patient. In-patient hovered somewhere around $400 and out-patient breached the $2000 mark and kept climbing until $3000. Our decisions was made to go with the more affordable option. The vet stated that the in-patient is usually more effective, but the chances of a puppy surviving parvo depended mostly on the strength and immune defenses of the puppy.
This is important. To anyone who faces the trials of having an animal with parvo, do not feel down about having to take the out-patient option. Sure, in-patient gives them a constant iv drip of fluids while in the hospital, but it does not guarantee them love, support, or human contact around the clock. Plus, Bagheera was given a 40 % chance if we treated him at home, only a small step down from a 50 % chance of in hospital treatment. Remember, constant monitoring and nurturing will most definitely help a puppy with parvo, but the chance of survival is largely dependent on the strength of the puppy.
So, that night, Thanksgiving night, he was given a bag of IV fluids, anti-nausea medication, and antibiotics, to ward off secondary infections. This was repeated the next three nights at the emergency clinic. We took him back about once every 20 or 24 hours, the last night being Sunday. Also, the vet told us that if he could make it, could avoid dying, until Monday, then our chances would drastically improve. Here is what happened between those days:
Friday: His condition wasn’t horrible yet, and we slightly fooled ourselves that this was as bad as it would get. He drank water with bacon bits in it, but not water by itself. He also ate leftover turkey and ham in small amounts. He even managed to play with the other dogs and walk around the house. Meanwhile, I spent hours, on and off, reading forums and stories about people who had past experiences with parvo, both successful and unsuccessful. The were equal parts encouraging and discouraging. He had some diarrhea, but that was all. I went to bed that night thinking that he would probably be fine.
Saturday: This was essentially the beginning of a plateau, the first day of his sickest peak. He couldn’t even look at food or water. All he did was lay around and look at people hopelessly. I have to tell you, seeing that look in a dog’s eyes is enough to send you into tears. I know that I could hardly hold back most of the time. This was the first day that we started giving him water and pedialyte through syringes supplied by the vet’s office. Overall, we gave him about 5 full 60cc syringes that day. He threw up maybe once or twice. This was also the day of yellow diarrhea. It is the most wretched foul smelling liquid that has ever made passage into my nostrils, like mustard gas curb stomping my olfactory receptors. He was very lethargic all day and slept most of the time, except for when we had to force feed him. *They will hate you for shooting water and pedialyte down their throats, but it is necessary to help keep them alive. Each day, Bagheera grew more wary of us when we would approach him, using the energy he had to scurry away from us and hide under a table or chair. We took him back to the vet that night for his daily injection of fluid and medicine. By this time, he was weak enough to the point where he didn’t bark, yelp, or even squirm through anal thermometer penetration or syringe injections of anti-nausea medication (they say this stuff burns like crazy).
Sunday: This day was basically a repeat of Saturday, except with more puke and diarrhea. At this point, his poop was dark brown and as foul as ever. That was the only time he ever moved by himself, when he needed to go to the bathroom. However, he rarely ever made it to the backyard and there was plenty of clean up to be done in the living room at 3 AM. By the way, you can expect to lose a lot of sleep during an ordeal with parvo. Often, I found myself waking up in 30 minute intervals to lay a hand on his side, keenly tuning in to the rise and fall of his chest or some shallow heartbeat. Sometimes I even ruffled his fur lightly, just to see him open his eyes so I could go back to sleep for another half hour. We took him to the vet for his fluids again and not much changed.
Monday: He had made it to Monday. I was hopeful, but still skeptical. The diarrhea still kept coming and he hadn’t eaten since Friday. I decided to put off gonig back to school until Tuesday morning. I knew there was no point in going to class or work because I wouldn’t be able to concentrate. This was the first day we took him to our family vet and received the best news of all. He said that he had rarely ever seen a dog make it as long as Bagheera had and die. Also, he said that the diarrhea was a good sign, meaning that he was still expelling the virus from his system. So, they filled him up with fluids and we took him home. The vet said we could expect a full recovery by Thursday.
Tuesday: I had to drive back to school because finals were coming up and left early that morning. I remember getting out of bed that morning to the best thing I had seen in days. When I walked out of my room, Bagheera stood up on the couch and wagged his tail. Later that night, my dad texted me a video of him eating dog food, and even later, playing with his bone.
Now: He is fully recovered. By that Thursday, he was running around, pulling food off the table, and chewing on everything from rocks to plant pots just like his old self. I can definitely and wholeheartedly say that the fight against parvo was one of the most emotionally draining things I have ever been through. There were times where I tried to imagine what life would be like if we lost him, and I simply couldn’t without tears streaming down my cheeks. There were times during his sickness where I would go for runs at the track and completely lose myself, stopping with weak legs and sweat pouring from the cuffs of my shirt, wondering how long I had been running. It was an extremely depressing time and I am so thankful, can’t say to who though, that he survived and has recovered.
For anyone else who finds themselves facing a puppy with parvo, never give up. If you notice any signs in your dog, whether lethargy or diarrhea, a lack of appetite for food or water, don’t hesitate to get them checked out.

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