Hospital Visit

I went by to see Burton in the hospital today.    A lot of people don't know that most vet's offices will allow you to visit a hospitalized pet for a short period of time.     He was very quiet and hardly moved while I was there, but at one point he did sit up on his own.   Finally, he just laid back down but he did make the effort.   I thought that was a positive thing and he was happy to see me.   I'm a big believer in visiting animals in the hospital, especially ones that might have just come out of a puppy mill or shelter environment.    To them, these places aren't that much different from a vet's office.    But if they see a friendly face and hear a recognizable voice, I think it eases their minds and helps them recover.    I just talked to him and told him very positive things and he didn't take his sad eyes off me.    He has the saddest, sweetest dachshund eyes.  

When you visit a dog who has parvo, you are entering an environment that could track the deadly virus back out into the vet's offie and into your home.   They take very serious precautions during the visit to prevent htis from happening.   Where I went today the person visiting has to don a sterile gown, disposable booties, and gloves.    Then, when you leave all of these items must be left in the room and you have to walk through a bleach solution to kill anything that might have hitched a ride on the soles of your feet.

Burton is the only dog in the quarantined room right now, so I think he's getting lots of attention.   The one tech who let me in today wasn't manning the room but told me she had left her disposable gown behind for him to cuddle in yesterday.    She advised that I leave mine behind too.   That was a very sweet gesture, and it's things like that which ease my mind and help me feel good about where he is.

The vet has been phenomenal - contacting me at least twice a day to let me know how he's doing.    His last message was that there was no change ... that kind of got me down.   But Joey took a very positive view and pointed out at least he's not getting worse.    I'd muh rather look at it like that.

Burton has vomited a number of times between last evening and this evening so at this point their not trying to feed him.   The positive?  He doesn't have diarrhea and he's remaining hydrated thanks to the IV fluids.   Burton is in the prayers and "good vibes" of a lot of people.    His name has even been passed among a group of people called "Pawcircle" on Twitter.   Elisa is our great Twitter gal and she let me know she had done that.    That really makes me happy.

Sadly, Mario did not make it.   He got much worse and his new family knew they had to let him go.    They've bought him a little dog coffin and are going shopping for a stepping stone this weekend to mark the area in their yard where the sweet boy is laid to rest.    I can't stop crying, but I am so thankful that he has a family that loves him so much that they're burying him with such love.

To paraphrase Ellen, a dog can consider themselves lucky if they leave this earth with humans that will cry at their passing.     Mario's death certainly was marked with a lot of grief and tears.