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Puppy's sick

7K views 38 replies 12 participants last post by  2doodsmom 
#1 ·
I picked up our 8 week old tan labradoodle from the pet store a week ago. I took her to the vet the very next day (as a precaution I have 3 children 8,2,1) and found out a ton of things. She had worms, parasites and was missing shots. I left with a bag of meds and a nice sized vet bill. Then two days later she started to cough terribly and I was back at the vet again. She hass a terrible case of bronchitis and was put on two more medicines. I have to take her to the vet tomorrow for a recheck. I went to the pet store and found out her sister (who was still there) was also sick. The manager said that the breeder would not cooperate and they didn't know what to do. Other than venting, my questions are, is this normal? Do puppies usually get sick? Should the breeder or pet store share some of the vet bills? I am so confused. I already love this puppy like she is one of my children. She is the best puppy, sleeps through the night, making great strides in potty training. I just don't know how the best way to handle her sickness is. Any advice would be GREATLY appreciated!
Dora's mama,
Beth
 
Discussion starter · #7 ·
Dora the sick puppy

I can't thank all of you enough for your encouraging and thoughtful comments. The pet store said that they would never get another animal of anykind from where they got Dora from. I am located in North Carolina. My heart goes out to every animal big, small, sick or healthy. So I am glad that we have her and she is getting the proper medical attention. I knew getting her also meant taking care of her. I just didn't know if it was normal or if anyone else had gone through it. Dora goes back tomorrow for a recheck and to be honest she is not any better. She could hardly play outside a few minutes ago because she couldn't stop coughing everytime she would try to run. My heart aches and I have been praying that she will get better. I just wanted to make sure I wasn't crazy for thinking that the pet store should credit me somehow. Maybe some free dog food!! :D Thanks for everyone's concern!
 
Discussion starter · #10 ·
puppy sick

There is no need for apologies. I appreciate all of your comments and I found them very helpful. I wish I had been more prepared and that is my only regret. I am so glad that Dora goes back today because I would of had to take her anyway. I stepped into the kitchen this morning and I heard this noise, found out it was her breathing. She is really congested this morning. I haven't been able to put her on the zip line because I want to keep an eye on her. I will post how she does at the vet this morning.
On a more positive note: Dora made it through the night with out an accident! She is 9 weeks old and I was so tickled that I didn't have to mop the floor. She got two treats for going outside this morning! She is now watching my kids eat breakfast.
Thanks again everyone!
Beth and Dora
PS
http://www.puppychow.com/fun_stuff/your ... x?id=30112
I have two pictures of Dora on this cute website if anyone wants to take a peek!
 
Discussion starter · #12 ·
Dora's vet appointment

I just got back from taking Dora to her vet appointment. She has gained 4 pounds in a week!! The vet said that was good! The good news is that she is not worse. He said she sounded the same and to keep giving her the medicine. She now has discharge from her nose and is coughing up stuff too. He wants me to take her back Monday to be rechecked and he is going to put her on another 10 days of antibiotics to avoid a secondary infection. I am going to go back to the pet store and try to talk to the manager again. I have been trying so hard to be nice, but this time I may have to demand some type of action. Thanks so much for the support and I will keep everyone posted.
Beth & Dora
 
Discussion starter · #16 ·
I did go by the pet store after I picked up my son from preschool. Unfortunatly Dora's sister is still there. She is a solid black labradoodle with a very sweet face. She appears to have lost some weight and she was just lying there coughing like Dora does. I am not sure if they are treating her. I saw that all of her info had been taken down and there was no sold sign. I tried to speak to the manager who gave me a very rude brush off. She said to save the vet bills and the owner of the pet store would reimburse me for the sickness related parts of her vet bill and then stomped off. I stood there with my jaw dropped holding my baby and my 2 year olds hand in shock. I was surprised that they are going to cover some of the bills but couldn't believe how the store manager acted. Does she not know what we have been through the last 9 days? Three trips to the vet, dog gagging medicine, the all nighter I pulled watching this dog cough and gag almost to death? The tears I have cried? How could she be so rude and uncaring? And Dora's poor sister! She is the only puppy in whole store. Her eyes look just like Dora's as I stared at her through the glass caged window. They should be ashamed of there selves. I am going to try to calm down, pray and talk to my husband about what we should do next. I pictured many things when thinking about getting a puppy, none of this was in it!
Thanks so much for the nose drop suggestion. I think she is going to need them because she is so stopped up. I spent about 5 minutes trying to clean her nose. This is after the vet did it already this morning. I can't thank everyone for their support. It means so much to me that everyone has been so helpful and kind. I am keeping positive that this weekend she will get better and her vet visit will go well on Monday. Thanks again everyone!! :)
 
Discussion starter · #21 ·
I wish I had better news to report but Dora had a very rough night last night. The poor puppy just can't seem to shake this terrible cold. I am going back to the vet this afternoon. I have a bible study class this morning and I am already so far behind. I am going to also try to get to the bottom of what is going on at the vet. Four times in 11 days and she is the same if not worse. She was so pitiful yesterday and last night. She won't play or eat and she is outside now laying down. It is about 65 here this morning and she really liked the fresh air. I am going to call the pet store this afternoon and see if they can set up a meeting for the pet store OWNER not the manager to discuss the vet bills and I am going to push for a partial refund. Then I will make the decision of going to the media. I know the people at the local paper and one of our news stations has a views choice segment that is very popular. I just hope they do the right thing because I don't want to get nasty unless I have too. I will keep everyone posted. Thanks everyone for all the encouragement and kind words. Take care!
 
Discussion starter · #24 ·
I am located in North Carolina. I have thought about taking Dora's sister myself but I don't have another $600 for her. I even thought about instead of getting credit for Dora if they would give me her sister I would call it even. But right now I don't have the funds to treat two very sick puppies. I asked about her and they said they thought she was getting better but they don't know what to do with her. I guess they can't sell her when she is sick. The manager did try to make contact with the breeder again and he told her he was golfing, and couldn't deal with her right then. They were much nicer today and agreed to pay the vet bills. They also said that they would have the vet office set up to send them future bills so I didn't have to come out of pocket any more for her sickness related parts of her visits. The offered to take her back for a full refund and I just couldn't do it. I had no idea what they would do with her and my husband was very upset that they even asked us that. I am going to take her to the vet either this pm or in the am depending on when they get her account straightend out. I will be in touch soon! Thanks again everyone!! Beth and Dora-doodle!
 
Discussion starter · #26 ·
Good Morning Everyone! I wanted to give you guys a quick update. I finally got to speak to the owner of the pet store last night. You guys know how it goes, cooking dinner, kids crying, dog barking! He again offered me a full refund for Dora if I brought her back and we finally agreed that he would pay for the entire first two vet bills and today's visit. He also said that since we wanted to keep her that he would see us through her sickness and take it one vet appointment at a time until she gets better.
I gave her a bath last night and she is so pretty. She was really dirty and smelled a lot. But now she is so fluffy and pretty. I was able to get her nose really clean and her eyes and she acted like she felt better. She is still coughing but seems to have so much more life and playfulness in her. I really hope this means she is turning the corner and feeling better.
Dora sister was in the front doggie playroom when I went up there last night. She seems like she is feeling better too. Her nose was nasty but she kept trying to jump out to get to me and the baby. I am hoping that they are treating her and that she will get better too. I felt bad because there was another little white puppy in there ( I think was a return because I remember seeing it a few weeks ago) and the lady standing beside me was telling Dora's sister to "go on" because she wanted to see the white one. She is a lot smaller than Dora but my husband said it is probably because she can't exercise and get strong. Dora is almost twice the size of her and they were the same size two weeks ago.
I am going to get Miss Dora checked out really good (compliments of the Animal Jungle!!) and get her medicine and I pray that everything continues to go good. I will post later and let everyone know how she does at the vet. Thanks for all the encouragement and give kisses to all those wet noses out there!!
Beth and Dora
 
Discussion starter · #29 ·
Dora's vet visit went really well. She did loose a little weight but the vet said that she actually sounded a lot better. He said that I did a good job with cleaning her nose. That she was probably having such a rough time Sunday night and Monday morning because she was getting rid of all that congestion. I got more antibiotics and cough medicine for 10 more days. I am relieved because she acts like she feels better too!! She dug two huge holes in yard, but I was just so happy to see her do something other than lay, I could care less!! She also ran all these circles around me when we were going back in. She is such a cool puppy. I am so relieved she is feeling better!
My heart goes out to Dora's sister. She is also feeling better but she is going on 3 weeks being there and I don't know if she will sell or not. They had cleaned out all the cages and put a bunch of new lables up and it looks like they are expecting a lot of puppies to come in, so I know that won't help. I would take her if I could but I have 3 kids (8,2,1) and one sick (but getting better!) puppy. I just don't think I could handle another puppy. I have wracked my brain and I even took Dora with me to pick up my son from school and talked to a lot of parents and kids about her sister. I keep trying to reason that two puppy couldn't be much more work than one but I just don't know. What do you guys think? I have seen that a lot of you guys own more than one, so any advice would help. I am a stay at home mom so unless I am picking up or dropping off I am always here. Thanks for all the support! I couldn't of got through this without each of you!!
Beth and Dora

http://www.puppychow.com/fun_stuff/your ... x?id=30112
new picture!!
 
Discussion starter · #34 ·
Sorry not to post in a while! I have been really busy with my feeling better puppy! She is doing so well! You can really tell she feels better. She is eating a little more (about 2 1/2-3 cups a day) and is playing non stop! We have had so much fun with her today! The boys are home from school and have played with her all day. She is sleeping now! Dora loves to stretch across my lap and let me rub her belly!
Dora's sister is still at the pet store. I went yesterday to pick up hopefully the last payment for the vet bills and I checked on her. She seemed to be doing good. She looks a lot smaller than Dora, but Dora gets more (maybe too much :roll: ) food and exercise. They had also taken $100 off of her too. She is down to $499. I found a friend that said she had been wanting one for a long time. She was asking me ALOT of questions about how it was going so far. Maybe I can talk her into it!! I have decided that I just can't get her. I love her and I feel bad that she is still there. Almost like she is waiting for me. But I just don't think I could manage the cost and the time for two young puppies. I just hope that she will find a home soon. She is a really sweet dog.
I just want to thank everyone again for all of the great advice and support. I would not of been able to get through this trying time with out you. You all gave me the courage and reassurance to stand up for my self and I got $148 towards the vet bills because of it!! This is a wonderful forum and I hope one day, I can help someone like you all helped me!!
Beth and Dora
 
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