Zeke gets the parvo virus

This is embarrassing to admit, but I didn't get Zeke vaccinated against parvo when he was neutered in March, only because the vet's office was 30 miles o/w and I would have needed to take off from work for the subsequent booster shots.

"I'll get that done this summer when I have time" I told myself. Well, summer vacation came and went and I never got it done.

I noticed something wasn't quite right with Zeke Saturday morning during my usual spoon-feeding of canned food I share five ways. Zeke normally lines up with the other four dogs in the kitchen and jumps up for his treat when it's his turn, but this time he didn't jump up. He sniffed the spoon and walked away. Later he vomitted and had smelly, black diarrhea on the carpet. These symptoms then continued all weekend.

He reclused himself from the pack over the weekend and sat alone under the backyard's shrubs. He drank lots of water but vomitted it up shortly thereafter. If he had a fever he had it Saturday afternoon, as he lay in the sun watching the neighbor's Dalmation pups. I thought he was just hot from the sun since his fur was hot; his ears felt cooler later that day. But he wasn't chasing Minnie and he even left the cats alone.

It was his total lack of appetite, though, that had me concerned. He hadn't eaten anything since Friday's serving of Purina Beneful, a sample bag I got to try. I thought it was this awful dog food that gave Zeke food poisoning, since the first 20 ingredients are corn, fillers and preservatives, ingredients I tend to shy away from.

One thing that kept me calm was Zeke's alertness. Whenever Zeke lay alone he kept his head up. He never looked depressed and always responded to his name. He was even walking around Sunday afternoon, albeit slowly.

Monday morning I took him to the vet for an exam. He was quickly diagnosed with the parvo virus, given anti-vomitting medication, amoxicillin and pain killers. Dr Snyder said the worst was over for him since he was showing more alertness by then and didn't feel the need to have him hospitalized. The bill for the home treatment was under $300.

By Monday afternoon he was eating again and by Tuesday he was back to fetching balls with his packmates and even stole a hamburger patty from the kitchen counter. That's when I knew he was fully recovered and back to his sneaky self. He's a lucky dog and I learned a valuable lesson: get all dogs vaccinated against all contagious diseases! It's cheaper and safer than waiting for the dog to come down with something painful and potentially deadly.