Graceful

the sad and short lives of some rescues

I've never experienced Parvovirus with a dog nor have I seen anything so fast and ravaging on a body. Only Puppies get it, said the vet. Gracie was handed to me by a guy out of a window of a truck, a delivery driver who passes my yard and little rescue every week. He saw her on the highway alone and thought to bring her to me as he couldn't keep her. It was January 22.

I pulled her out and she was of course adorable but I have a rule, No Puppies. They have different diets, can get stepped on, need separate house training...we all know the deal with puppies. And they have different diseases. And with the 10+ other dogs and those on the street I feed and water, it doesn't make sense for me. But I put her in my hoodie jacket and walked home with her. 

She was so easy to be with and the other dogs took to her and she knew her place and was super fast at potty training. Maybe 8 weeks old? Maybe less. And 8 weeks later, I'm sad to say, she has passed. Last Tuesday she was running around the yard with my slippers and tossing them in the air. She had never been outside of the gate before, that evening she slipped out with Dusty. Oh what a time she had, we chased her for a block and round the corner, she disappeared for a minute into the dark and there she was back at the door. Did she contract Parvo out there? I suspected poison. A lot of dogs around here get poisoned.

Wednesday she refused food. She never ate again. I had the mobile vet Ramon come Saturday and he had me start her on IV fluids Friday, it's fast the parvo, he said. You have to start now. I have no experience with syringes and no training on ampules and needle swaps and working those tricky plungers. My hat is off to everyone who has to inject themselves. I've been practicing on a tomato. I'm no good. Horrible in fact. 

We did all we could Saturday and after 500 ml of saline she jumped up and grabbed a piece of carrot cake I was eating in her "tranquilized" state. She ate some canned food I gave her, and got more antibiotics, some immune system support shots and seemed to be wobbly but it was promising. The vet couldn't take her back to the city 3 hours away because of upcoming Holy Week, everyone in Mexico leaves to go somewhere else to make noise and party under the guise of Church. I'd have to handle it on my own. 5 shots each side of saline 5 times a day. By yesterday she was still so dehydrated that her skin was too tight to find an injection spot.  The antibiotic needle into her leg muscle hit bone. I felt the doom. 

She walked around and stood at water bowls around the house and yard for hours. She stared at them but did not drink. She stood in them. She stuck her face in them. She never slept. I know that fasting keeps you awake. Around 12:30 am she laid on the fluffy feather bed with the puppies who adored her and died. 

She will be missed.