PAWFECT 
STORIES

We adopted Truck from a rescue in Oklahoma when he was just 8 weeks old. He was the runt of the litter and had to fight the hardest from the very beginning. We didn’t know just how important that fighting spirit would end up being for our Truck. His first week home was magical—Truck played for hours each day with our three boys, and we felt so much joy at having him be a part of our family. His first visit with our vet was uneventful and he charmed everyone that he met. They said he was a healthy pup and we started him on his necessary vaccines. However, during his second week home with us, Truck began to slow down and his appetite suddenly disappeared. Within 24 hours, we took him back to our vet out of concern. They found parasites in his stool but said with meds, he would be fine. However, that night and into the next morning, Truck began vomiting and only wanted to be held. Over the course of the next 3-4 days, we kept taking Truck back to our vet, upwards of two times each day. We knew something else was wrong. Our vet administered anti-nausea meds, checked for Parvo, and assessed vitals over the course of these many visits. Finally, during our last desperate visit, demanding them to look further for answers, they did blood-work and assessed his kidney and liver values. The news they delivered next was devastating. Truck’s organs were shutting down. He was experiencing kidney and liver failure and they suggested humanely euthanizing. We pressed for answers. Why was his body shutting down? What was making him so ill? They didn’t have the means to perform diagnostic testing, so they could only speculate. But they believed Truck was too far gone to try to save. We knew when we adopted Truck that he was a lifetime commitment. We had made him a part of our family. And we were not going to give up on him that easily. We took Truck out of the vet’s office and drove across town to our city’s only emergency animal hospital. They agreed that he was in rough shape and speculated that he had contracted lepidopterist. Truck stayed at the hospital for several days with round the clock care. Our joyful, sweet puppy went from chasing toddlers in our backyard to being hooked up to an IV of fluids and antibiotics, a gastrotube, and a catheter. His blood-work was done multiple times a day to check for progress. He had x-rays, ultrasounds, cancer screenings, yet another Parvo test, and a series of bacterial panels (including lepto) sent off for testing. Despite exhaustive diagnostic testing, we never uncovered what it was that had made Truck so sick. Ultimately, after several days in their care, Truck started to recover. It was slow at first, but the puppy we thought we were going to lose finally came home to us. Looking at Truck today, you would never know he had to fight for his life only a month ago. He has boundless energy, loves to play and snuggle with his family, and is truly my children’s best friend. He is home. We are grateful beyond words that we decided to listen to our gut and seek out a second opinion on our puppy’s fatal diagnosis. We are so grateful for the amazing care he received at the emergency animal hospital. And we are grateful for people who have graciously donated to help us get Truck the care he needed to save his life. The cost for Truck’s care was staggering. We had invested around a thousand already at our initial vet during our twice a day pushes to get him well. The animal hospital added another seven thousand to our mounting bills. We have stretched ourselves to pay what we can, as well as received some gracious donations to help us bridge the gap. We have about $2500 still owed to the animal hospital and we simply do not know how we will be able to pay it. However, we know we will find a way. Truck is a miracle. We will figure it out, but the most important thing is that our puppy is well and he is home.