our fosters - hava fostered 05.31.05 - 08.13.05

Hava is a 12 week old Rottweiler mix that I took in for foster. When I took her in I didn't know that she had Parvo. I found that out after 5 days with me. She spent 7 days in the hospital and came home to spend a month recovering with me. I have documented her recovery in hopes that it will help other folks in trying to care for a recovering Parvo puppy. To follow is her story:

05.31.05 - Hava is an adorable 12 week old Rottie mix puppy. If I hadn't seen her sister, I'd swear that she is full Rottie down through her gentle but stubborn temperament.

The first night, the main activity was to give her a good scrubbing. She was filthy. The bath water was dark brown when we were done. She wasn't too happy about the bath at all. Although she loved the towel snuggling afterwards. Definitely a snuggler and a kisser.

Borrego and she like one another although I think Borrego wishes she'd play more. Borrego keeps nudging her with her nose and our cat Tobee keeps sticking his face in hers and running away to try to get her to chase him. She doesn't really respond to either request for play. She's a pretty mellow pup, just kinda watches the world go by with occasional spurts of puppy energy. She's very food motivated which will be great for training her.

She's already got a bit of a pushy attitude. She was in my lap and Borrego came over for some lovin and Hava let out a little growl like "go away, this is my lap". Borrego just looked at her like she was out of her mind. It's cute from her at this size but if this is something that's a trait she's developing now (very typical of that breed) I'd say she'll need someone who will make sure she's well trained to keep that in check.

As far as favorite play toys so far, her favorite, unfortunately was a sock that Borrego brought her from the laundry. Other than that, she randomly plays with the tennis balls that are Borrego's addiction or the big chew bone that's in the back yard.

06.01.05 So far she's reasonably good with the potty training - only one almost accident this morning before work. At work she's mostly just slept under my desk. That's the easiest kind of office foster. I keep forgetting she's here - except for the toys strewn about the office. People keep dropping me notes to ask if she's awake yet. My rule in the office is that if I have a puppy here, they are never to wake them up if they are sleeping or just laying quietly - otherwise I'd never get anything done. Also, if they do wake the puppy, it is their responsibility to immediately take her down to potty. That usually discourages too many interruptions to their sleep schedules right there.

After work we played for quite some time in the back yard before Borrego and I went to agility class. She enjoys chasing me and then ducking down like I don't see her. We did have our second potty training accident but it was totally my fault because I didn't notice that she had gotten up from sleeping on my feet and pooped on my suede carpet. Ah well - if that offends you - don't get a puppy. We finished up the rest of her potty break outside and made it bed time. She's not crazy about being crated but what dog does at first? The hilarious thing is that she howls when she's not happy. So far my guess is that she's a late night puppy since I'm typing this at almost midnight and she's more active than she's been all day.

06.05.05 We have been treating little Hava since we got her for Coccidia, which is an intestinal parasite. Until today it was under control but for some reason it flared up today and she has been pretty sick. Poor baby is not so high energy normally and now she's absolutely immobile. I've read up on the condition and the main danger to her is dehydration. We have managed to keep her drinking and switched her to wet food so that she is getting the nutrients and some extra hydration. She is showing no interest in her dry puppy kibbles. I am worried about the poor little dear but we are doing all we can until we get counsel about what to do next. Borrego has been so good with her and even let her cuddle all up next to her for a nap this afternoon.

06.06.05 She was much worse this morning, wouldn't eat at all and has started vomiting. I rushed her to the hospital that Underdog Rescue uses which is an hour away (Pearson Nespor in San Marcos). She will be staying at least overnight and they're going to run a full panel of tests. Unfortunately the word "parvo" came up more than once in the vets conversation with me. I haven't heard yet if that is the diagnosis. I've been reading up on it this afternoon and it does appear that rottweilers are extraordinarily sensitive to the virus and get it much worse. We are all praying that the diagnosis doesn't come back as that.

06.07.05 Unfortunately the diagnosis came back last night. Hava has the Parvo virus, as well as tape and round worms. She is very very ill and I have sent out a desperate plea for prayers for her. She has been on an IV since yesterday and is responding to the medications so we are hopeful. She will be in the hospital another 3-4 days.

Parvo is highly contagious and transmitted through the feces. As I usually do, I have over researched it in order to help myself feel better. I have put a mix of some of the information I've found about it here. Most responsible dog owners vaccinate their dogs against the virus (thankfully Borrego is vaccinated) so it is mostly dangerous to small puppies who haven't been fully vaccinated yet. The parasites that bear it can live in soil for up to 6 months. Disinfection is done with chlorine bleach and I will be out disinfecting everything today. Unfortunately this means that I will not be able to foster another puppy after her for 6 months to be absolutely certain that my own yard is completely free of the virus.

06.09.05 I just got off the phone with Dr. Nespor, Hava's vet. He said that she seems to be responding. She only threw up a little yesterday so they are going to try taking her off the IV and giving her solid food today. He said that if she handles that well she can go home tomorrow. The unfortunate timing is that I will be up in LA for the Vintage Hollywood Benefit for Children with Aids on Saturday night and won't return until Sunday early afternoon. I would have felt most comfortable if she could stay in the hospital a few more days but Dr. Nespor seems adamant that if she's better, she should go home.

06.11.05 I just drove the hour to Hava's vet to find out that she has taken a turn for the worse today. She hadn't handled the solid food as well as they had hoped but was still mostly seeming better. Today she took a turn for much worse and they had to transfuse her this morning.

Since the vet closes for Saturday night through Sunday night, leaving her there wasn't an option. Dr. Nespor has decided to bring her home with him and care for her at his home for the days they are closed. He is truly her angel for doing this! I feel the most comfortable with this option for her. He seems to be too.

Since I was there I asked if I could give her some loving. I spent about 20 minutes with her. I felt really good that she wagged her tail, gave me kisses and rolled over for a tummy rub when she saw me. Poor poor sweetheart - she looked so tired and depressed. I told her everyone was praying for her and gave her all the positive energy and love I could in that short time. The techs all seem to love her and reassured me that she was getting lots of attention all day every day.

All we can do is keep praying.

06.13.05 Until only 10 minutes ago, I wasn't even sure if she had survived the weekend or not. However, thanks be to God, she was brought back to the hospital today in much better condition than she left it on Saturday. The doctor says she is up and wallking around, barked at another dog and is hungry. They are running to the store to get her some chicken to try her on solid foods again today. If she does well with this, she may be able to come home with me tomorrow. Prayers that this is a permanent turn for the better in her young life and kudos to Dr. "angel" Nespor.

06.14.05 Thank you to all of you who have expressed that you are praying for and supporting Hava's survival through Parvo. It's not over yet, however I just got word that Hava can come home tomorrow. The doc says she is truly a miracle puppy - that her white blood cell count, which is supposed to be around 15.5 was at 1.3 when she was transfused on Saturday. He says that he has saved dozens of parvo puppies but none that were as sick as she was. I truly believe it was all the prayers that made the difference.

06.15.05 OK - Hava came home at 3:00 today. Now her life is my responsibility and the people that know the most about her condition are an hour away.

When I went to get her out of the crate in Lisa's truck she barked and barked and then kissed and kissed and kissed me - tail wagging furiously. All of us went into the back yard to chat about her care. She wandered around and said hi to Borrego. She picked up a ball and romped a little in the grass. I can see already that the hardest thing to do will be keeping her quiet.

I got the full instructions for her care (about as overwhelming as I expected). 1/2 tablet of Flagyl twice a day (for infection). 1/4 tablet of Sucralfate twice a day (to protect the stomach against ulcers) to be given 1/2 hour before the other two medications. 1 tablet of Amoxicillin twice a day (to help with bacterial infection). In a week I can start her on Nutrigest twice a day for immunity boost. She is to eat chicken, rice and cooked carrots but only 2 tablespoons every 2-3 hours. I can't bring her out of my home for 30 days - so no going to work for her for a month.

Since I work during the day and can't bring her with me while she's so sick, I will turn on and move our web cam to sit just outside her crate so we can all watch her (http://kimsmith.ww.com). Doug works about 15 minutes away so if there is an emergency he can be right there.

Every time she potties, I need to pay attention to how it looks, scoop it immediately and spray the area down with bleach.

Understandably I'm terrified now that her little life is about to be turned over to me to keep moving forward. Continued prayers into this next phase will be very much appreciated as she is still so very fragile. I will keep this page updated as best I can throughout the process so maybe my struggles will benefit someone else going through the same thing.

We hung out outside for about 3 hours this afternoon until she threw up a little - which freaked me out. I gave her her medicine for coating her tummy and then put her down for a nap. She didn't want to sleep so I laid next to the kennel with my hand inside so she could put her head on it. She fell asleep and I snuck off.

I'll be staying home from work tomorrow to keep an eye on her. If she does ok, I'll feel better leaving her during the day on Friday.

06.16.05 This is an overwhelming undertaking right now but who else will do it if I don't? Here was my night: It was up and down all night. Midnight potty then back in the crate. 1:00 potty then she was seeming really cuddly. I know every training manual ever says that this is the wrong thing to do but I laid down on the couch with her snuggled up to my chest. She tucked her head under my chin and draped her paws around my neck and was soon actually snoring - adorable little happy puppy snores. We slept until about 3:00. At 3:00 she got up and very anxiously wanted to go out where she threw up but just a tiny bit. I gave her a little taste of water and put her in her kennel. Around 4:00 she barked to go out again. We went out and she just wanted to play. We wandered around the back until about 4:30 and then I fed her a little and put her back in the crate. She is so ravenous every time I give her her miniscule amount of food. She very nearly takes my fingers off every time. I understand. Doug got me up at 6:00 so I was up and down watching her while he got ready for work. I gave her her medicines since one has to be given 1/2 hour before the other two and then fed her her 2 tablespoons of rice and carrots when I gave her her second pills. I put her back in her crate at 7:30 and we slept until about 9:30. We went out and played a little. I gave her a spoonful of rice and a little piece of chicken then put her back in her crate which she is very unhappy about right now. Barking and barking. I'm supposed to be keeping her calm but I don't know which is calmer - in the crate but frustrated to be there or in the house or outside with Borrego where she is tempted to run around too much.

OK - I called Dr. Nespor and he does not want me to be giving her any outside wandering time. She is to be crated 90% of the time in another room so that maybe she doesn't get frustrated by not being with us. Easier said than done and I'm quickly updating this in the only 10 minutes I've been out of that room all day. Mostly she's only quiet if I lay by her crate with my hand where she can see it. She's barking now so I'll go back in.

06.17.05 Last night was pretty similar to the night before with the notable good exception that she did not throw up. She seems to be feeling better and is definitely ravenously hungry. I'm keeping to the very strict regimine of a tablespoon of food at a time but she is definitely holding me to the promise of food. She started a really cute move at about 3:00 this morning. Our routine in the middle of the night (every two hours) is to get up and go out to potty. Once back inside I pull out a tablespoon of something for her to eat. She has started coming in to the kitchen and sitting straight up like a chipmunk with her paws tucked across her chest, looking at me expectantly. It's absolutely adorable! I'll try to get a picture but I'm not generally my most coherent at 3 a.m.

Today I had to go to work so we've rigged up the web cam to stretch all the way into the guest room to watch her (http://kimsmith.ww.com). Michael and Doug are going to tandem checking in on her every 2-3 hours today. I'm going to just try to make it through the day without falling asleep at my desk.

06.18.05 So I clocked about 4.5 hours of sleep last night. However at least this lack of sleep had a lot to do with the fact that she seems to be feeling better and wants to be more active. A lot more barking. We had her in the back and she kept trying to instigate play with Borrego. We had to stop that. She's still ravenous and I feel badly for her ever growling tummy but I'm committed to doing this right. She's definitely a handful as she starts to feel better but we're still trying to keep her calm. We had a number of people over for a movie night tonight and people took turns holding her quietly in their laps. That seemed to work better than trying to crate here with everyone here.

06.19.05 She does a little bit better each night. We had two 3 hour blocks of sleep as well as a clean kennel each time we went out. Cleaning a dirtied kennel at 2a.m. is just not my idea of a good time. I am still sleeping in the guest room with Hava which may be a mistake from the point of view that she is becoming increasingly dependent on having people around. Today, each time I left her in the kennel alone, she just barked and barked. I let her bark until she fell asleep, which was hard but needs to be done to increase her independence. The good thing was that the frustration didn't cause her to throw up or make a mess in her kennel.

She actually may be at a point where she is better than she was when I first got her, 5 days before her hospitalization. She is certainly way more active. She has learned to climb up on the couch outside the kitchen window and then onto the ledge and stare in over our countertop. It's hilarious. I know we should be worried but she scampers up and down from there like a little mountain goat. She chases Borrego around to try to steal the balls from her mouth and beelines the kitchen any time we're inside in hope of her next meal. She is still on a couple of tablespoons of chicken and rice every 2-3 hours. I hear her tummy growling constantly.

She's got quite the defiant little attitude these last couple of days - barked at Borrego when she was in my lap and Borrego wanted to come near (something to watch out for as she gets older), she deliberately will stop and look at me when I ask her to do something and then swing her head defiantly the other direction and trot away. However she's never away for long as her passion is being with people and her ideal is being with people inside.

Right now it's 11:30 at night and she is fast asleep in my lap after we just got back in from a little romp in the back yard. If I don't let her have a little activity, no one will sleep tonight. I am so pleased that she continues to improve and her healthy life is all the thanks I need for all the work and worry.

06.21.05 Every day sees improvement and that makes me so incredibly happy for this little being. She is super attached to me and follows me everywhere. We can't decide if she actually likes me or just knows that I have access to food. She is ravenous all the time and I can't wait to get the all clear to let her have some more food. She's still on the couple of tablespoons every 2-3 hours (chicken and rice). It's been many days since she's thrown up and the other end, while still a little loose, is staying acceptable as well. You should see us, trowel in one hand - bleach in the other, following her around at potty-time to immediately scoop the waste with a little dirt, pour some bleach on the hole and chuck the rest in the garbage - after which we bleach the trowel. Quite the little circus.

She is sleeping better at night and last night actually made it 7 hours and no accidents in the kennel. Trust me - I am grateful for every wink of sleep we get as I sleep (or don't) next to her kennel every night. This morning she was up and romping around at a reasonable hour of 6:00.

06.22.05 Today is a week since we got her from the hospital and she is so incredibly improved since that time. I am no longer worried that if I do something wrong she will die. She sleeps through a bulk of the night and, by this weekend, I will wean her off of having me have to be sleeping in the same room as her so that I can sleep through the night myself. As soon as I hear if I can start her on more food, we'll start some of her basic training - sits and downs... So far, she's had free reign to be the spoiled little princess she deserves to be. She remains a really cuddly puppy and it's very easy to convince her to lay quietly in my lap while I do other things. She kisses any part of you that comes within tongue distance and I don't think her tail ever stops wagging.

06.24.05 We got to start feeding Hava regular puppy kibble tonight. We are feeding her Eukanuba puppy mixed with the rice and the chicken, which she just wolfed down. I was nervous about her tummy accepting it and it was a little rumbly as we cuddled on the couch but 2 hours later she was a dervish! She and Borrego had a great romp with a bumch of my socks. How could I possibly be upset at that amazingly happy face?!? She's a puppy - running after the cat, jumping on Borrego, playing tug of war with socks, throwing herself in big floppy flounces onto anything and everything and chewing on everything she shouldn't. Her tail wagged madly throughout. Now she is sitting behind me chewing on borrego's peanut butter ball. 06.25.05 She is definitely feeling a lot better. This morning began with a snarling barking jumping twisting tail wagging romp with Borrego. For a little dog she has quite a nasty snarl. We thought it was a warning growl from Borrego at first. The two of them have been wrestling for over an hour now.

Additionally, for those of you on poop watch - the first brown hard poop happened this morning. From a Parvo perspective, this is a huge step (or should I say poop) in the right direction!

06.28.05 With the recent introduction of puppy kibble back into Hava's diet, she has transformed by leaps and bounds (literally) into an active happy little puppy! She and Borrego wrestle, tug of war, play tag and keep away. Hava's favorite toy continues to be my socks and her second favorite is crunched up water bottles. She will happily play with whatever she can entice Borrego with however.

She continues to be a cuddle monster and follows me everywhere in the house. If she is outside and I am not (no matter who else is with her) she spends a lot of time climbing up onto the counter outside to kitchen to look for me. It's flattering but hopefully that doesn't bode poorly for her adoptability.

We've started work on sits and downs which she is catching on to pretty quickly. We're still really trying to work on potty training. I think that with the prolonged illness that was so centered on that area of her body, she does not have enough concept of how to hold it. Since she has been so ill though, I haven't reinforced it adequately up until now though. Boot camp is now.

Thursday we have a follow up appointment with Dr. Nespor who will hopefully give me a better indication of the next steps in her care. She is done with all but the Flagyl medications so hopefully it continues to be all smooth sailing from here...

06.30.05 This morning was our follow up visit to the vet. When Dr. Nespor walked in he raised his eyes a little in surprise and said "THIS is Hava?". He said she's looking very good and that her heart sounds great, which means that the Parvo hasn't affected it. He said to continue keeping her calm and I kept quiet about the fact that that's not really been possible - but then I guess she's calm all day so her bursts of energy in the morning and evening aren't too bad. He said I've done a very good job helping her recover (which was good for my ego whether it's true or not). She will have 2 more weeks of quarantine and then can get back on schedule for her vaccinations and will be back on track to be adopted. That's excellent news and exactly as I had hoped and expected of today's visit.

07.11.05 I'm sorry this hasn't been updated in a bit. Hava continues to become about the cutest, most well adjusted puppy ever. She has definitely moved into full on puppy mode as the pinprick holes in my arms and clothing, the mounds of dirt next to 1 foot deep holes in my back yard, and the laundry throughout the house will attest. Her favorite activities are giving kisses, chewing on empty water bottles, and playing tug of war or wrestling with Borrego. She has learned her sits and downs and will do "kennel" if she knows you have food for her. She mostly will come when called unless there is something more interesting in the direction she's headed. She loves going to the toy box, picking just the right toy, walking over to the fuzzy rug and throwing herself down in a big flop - paws every which way - to chew on the toy.

07.14.05 Hava scared me to death today. I had run home and put her outside so that I could quickly get ready to go out for a concert. All of a sudden I heard her screaming and screaming and screaming. I ran outside and she had evidently been up on the kitchen ledge watching me and got her back right leg caught between the boards when she went to jump off. Borrego was frantic and jumping all over her, which I'm sure didn't help. I grabbed her and carefully extracted her leg. She was so scared. I was so sure it was broken. However after about 10 minutes of calming down, I checked it all out and nothing appeared to be broken. She didn't want to put any weight on it so I am assuming that she pulled a muscle really badly. Since rest seemed to be the most recommended first aid for that, I didn't feel as badly having to put her back into the kennel while I went to the concert.

07.17.05 Today was Hava's (and my) first adoption event. That's those things where you see a bunch of dogs up for adoption outside of Petco. Hava is starting to show the down side to the past 6 weeks of seclusion. Everytime I put her down out of my lap she attempted to hide under the tables. She growled at some of the dogs and looked scared when people wanted to pet her. She has missed out on such a critical socialization time this past month. I had hoped that Borrego and Tobee could provide enough stimulation but there is still plenty of work to do.

At the event today, she got to be reintroduced to her biological mother, Hannah. Hannah is absolutely the nicest dog I've met in a long time. She instantly recognized Hava but Hava didn't recognize her so when Hannah began nuzzling and cleaning her, Hava was less than pleased, growing and backing into a corner. Eventually she got used to her but doesn't seem to have ever recognized her.

07.18.05 When I put the leash on Hava to take her out the front door to go to work today, you've never seen a puppy suddenly get so incredibly terrified. Yesterday must have been even more overwhelming than I thought. However, I can't cater to the fear so she is here with me at work today, hiding under my desk. We did make a brief foray downstairs where she refused to go anywhere. Her leg appears to still be bothering her as she limps but doesn't really show any signs of pain. In any case, I'll start giving her short walks on the leash every day now to get her more used to that and the out of doors.

07.23.05 Today was Hava's first day at puppy kindergarten. Our trainer and I agree that this will really help with her socialization. When we first got there she was terrified to come out from under the bench I was sitting on. I walked out into the middle of the training yard where the other puppies were playing and she played very tentatively with any puppies that came within 6 feet of me. Of course she excelled at "sits" and "downs" and was already half asleep when they got to "settle" so we skipped teaching her that.

07.25.05 Hava was so freaked out today by the thought of being out in the world that she got car sick both to and from work today. My poor baby - so scared. I looked up car sickness on line and mostly it says that 95% of dogs who get car sick aren't motion sick but stressed. Once at work she hid under the desk all day.

07.26.05 Today on our ride to and from work I opened all the windows and turned on the A/C and made Hava lay down where she fell asleep. That made for a much less car sick ride for her. At work she did venture out a couple of times and played with a couple of the folks before retreating back to the safety of under the desk. We'll keep doing this until she realizes that the world isn't a scary place.

07.27.05 A banner day for Hava bravery. She has been venturing further and further out from under my desk to the point where, this afternoon, I had to put up my pet fence in my office. I thought I would never get to that point with Hava. I'm very proud of her.

Adoption Application - Please note that all applications are screened by two people prior to being sent to me. You will be contacted by Underdog within 24 hours of submitting your application. They are aware of some of the requirements that I have for Hava's adoption and have their own set of criteria for what they consider to be a good match. A declination on Hava does not necessarily mean tha tyou will be declined on all dogs or puppies, just that this particular breed or age match with your family may not be the right fit in our eyes.