Sunday Afternoon Update on ICU Pups

Mr. Lime sat up and BARKED! :o)

Mr. Black greeted me with a wagging tail! :o)

Mr. Red and Miss Pink snuggled with Daddy Don (while I snuggled with Black and Lime) and scratched at their crate doors to be held. They were snuggle bears. :o)

Mr. White (Bones) and Mr. Yellow are just about ready to come home (they're off their IVs, wagging their tails, barking to get out, eating ravenously, and acting like puppies again). :o)

We're waiting to hear from the on-call vet (Dr. Walters, I think). She wanted to see how White and Yellow got through today (with food and without IVs). And if they're okay (still keeping food down and no diarrhea), we can bring them home later this afternoon.

We have a separate pen set up for them, just waiting for their return. I even found and bought another fleecy ball bed, and we picked up duplicates of all their favorite toys! That way both pens should feel like "home" even if it is for just a short time (before they go their forever homes).

The docs will be releasing the pups two at a time, and we'll keep them that way here since they are (and will be) in different stages of recovery. That should also help with their long-term transitions to life without their littermates when they finally go home with their new human families.

Just from watching the pups today, of the four remaining on their IVs (just Lime, Black, Red, and Pink -- remember, White and Yellow are no longer on theirs), here's how they seem to me:

• I think Mr. Black is really rebounding (though still a little punky, he was more energetic than he's seemed all week, and the fact that he's wagging his tail is fabulous -- a first since he got sick). He definitely seems to have turned a corner, though I think the vet tech said he still has a little trouble with vomiting.
• Mr. Lime is still a concern because he still had bloody diarrhea this morning. He's not outta the woods yet. He did, however, sit up and bark to be held when I picked up and held Mr. Black (who is in the crate next to Lime's). And Lime barked quite a bit -- he even howled. That's a huge improvement over barely picking up his head yesterday. And then when I held Lime today, he couldn't get enough of licking my face (Mr. Kisses). :o)
  
• Miss Pink still seems low-key to me, but the vet tech said she was up and barking earlier this morning. She's NOT getting a worse; but still seems about the same (alert, responsive, no more diarrhea, but still not energetic and puppy-like).
• Mr. Red is much like Miss Pink: holding his own, not worsening, alert, interactive, etc., but still not acting like a puppy yet).

The staff is still most concerned about Mr. Lime, since he's the only one still having bloody diarrhea. But I was REALLY encouraged when he sat up and started barking to be held (a first for him since he's been sick). They're still watching Lime, Black, Pink, and Red more closely, since they seem to be the four still experiencing GI symptoms.

And I do think White and Yellow are ready to come home.

That's the news here. At least they're all still hanging in there. And, boy, do they know (and respond t0) our voices now! That's a good thing. :o) It means they're getting stronger.

I'll check in later about Yellow and White -- I suspect they'll be home when I do. But if they don't come later today, they should be able to come home tomorrow morning.

We'll see.

Again, thanks for hanging in there. As Dr. Walters put it this morning, we're not completely over the hump yet (especially for the four still on IVs). So keep praying.

'Til next time,
Joan