Tuesday Afternoon Puppy Visit

I was greatly encouraged after my visit to see the pups this afternoon. Yes, they are all still in isolation in their own little ward. And yes, they are all still being watched carefully. And they're all being loved to pieces by the staff over there, too.

So here's the good news: all of their temperatures have returned to normal, all have tried solid foods -- bland Prescription Diet soft food rolled into meatballs (and for the most part the pups are keeping it down -- one or two still have occasional stomach upsets), all are alert and interactive (some more than others), all have found their voices again, and some are off their IVs.

Here's a very noisy video I took at 4:30-ish this afternoon. I hope this way you can see for yourselves how well they're doing (all things considered). Remember, as you watch, that Pink, Lime, White, and Red are the four that came down with the virus less than 36 hours ago (they were the last to be admitted), so they will still be a little "off" (not feeling as great as the rest).




We still don't know what's caused their illness. I met with both Dr. Hawkins and Dr. Wagner today before I left, and they assured me that we'll know as soon as they know (they'll call us right away when they get the test results). As Dr. Hawkins put it, the entire staff is watching the fax machine like hawks.

As for the pups, we're still looking at supportive care, and they're still receiving antibiotics and TamaFlu. And, so far, everyone seems to be doing pretty well.

The bottom line is that all nine pups are improving (no one has worsened since entering the ICU), and the staff is still very optimistic.

And if the pups' ruckus when I came to visit this afternoon is any indication, they should be just fine. Still, we're telling the docs to err on the side of caution: I'd rather the pups stayed there an extra day or two if need be just to be sure they're fine, rather than release them prematurely and have any relapse.

Miss Sky and Mr. Green, however, both seem like they're nearly ready to come home! (Not yet, though). They're almost a week into this, so they should be the closest to complete recovery. I suspect they'll come home first, with the rest of the pups following at intervals based on their recovery rates.

So that's where we stand for now. Keep praying for and with us.

'Til next time,
Joan