I would be surprised if anyone knew about the little dog that became a member of my parent's household this last weekend. My sister Alyssa has been hoping and praying for a dog for as many years as I can remember and last Saturday my dad found this little dog in the street by our house. He rescued it from almost getting hit by two cars and tried to find its owner. Being unsuccessful, the dog became a member of the family.
She was a tiny little thing - like a mix between a chihuahua and a pomeranian - and spunky to boot. Adorable and affectionate, she took to Alyssa immediately. The two were inseparable for a few wonderful days and our family had a fun new friend.
On Sunday we noticed she wasn't eating well and she spit up a few times. We were having trouble getting her to go to the bathroom and thought we should be more careful about feeding her chicken and roast beef off the table for a reward.
Over the next few days she continued to go down hill. Yesterday was Alyssa's birthday and the little dog was getting pretty bad. We fed her some beef broth through a syringe - only to have her throw it up a while later.
Things continued to go downhill today to the point where she was throwing up so badly that my mom had to put her in the bathroom with a towel. My mother and grandmother took her to the vet this morning and the terrible diagnosis came through - Parvovirus.
For those of you who are not familiar with the disease, Canine parvovirus type 2 (CPV2, colloquioally parvo) is a contagious virus mainly affecting dogs. The disease is highly infectious and is spread from dog to dog by direct or indirect contact with their feces. It can be especially severe in puppies that are not protected by maternal antibodies or vaccination. It has two distinct presentations, a cardiac and intestinal form. The common signs of the intestinal form are severe vomiting and severe hemmorhagic (bloody) diarrhea. (Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Canine_parvovirus)
The vet said that there is enough bacteria in the little dogs vomit to kill every dog in Utah. Chances of survival, even after spending massive amounts of time and money in pet hospitals, are not great - leaving us with the decision to put our sweet little friend down, and end the enormous pain she is going through. We are so grateful that the disease does not affect cats or humans - it would be a lot more to go through to lose our family cat (who has been with us for 8 years) and to have my baby sister, Brynndi, sick as well.
We are afraid that her previous owner knew about the disease diagnosis and abandoned her rather than deal with it. It is very unfortunate that this sad situation should befall my family, especially my wonderful sister on the day after her birthday. All I can say is that I am glad we had a few great days with her and I had the chance to see my sister so happy. God must have wanted that little dog to spend her last few days loved, happy, and comfortable so He sent her to us.
I am so grateful for the knowledge that this life is not all that there is. If nothing else, this instance has strengthened my resolve to live every day as if there is no tomorrow so that when tomorrow no longer comes, I will have no regrets about what might have been yesterday.
Thanks to all for the loving support they have given to our family. We love you all so much!
Love from the Bentley Family
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