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Buddy in surgery right now - now CPV?

2K views 16 replies 9 participants last post by  rayluckgoo 
#1 ·
I just got a call from my girlfriend. Buddy is in surgery right now for an intestinal obstruction. Xrays couldn't see what it was but there's a large gas pocket and he's been vomiting constantly. I'm out of town and really want to be there.
 
#2 ·
Re: Buddy in surgery right now

Well the vet couldn't find ANYTHING! He hasn't eaten in 36 hours and anytime he drinks, he throws up. There was a huge gas pocket but no reason for it. This is very odd. Anyone hear of anything like this?
 
#4 ·
Re: Buddy in surgery right now

Now they think it's CPV. Luckly, he's been on an IV for two days now since the surgery. I hope the surgery doesn't complicate his recovery with CPV. :(

Update: Buddy is currently at the emergency after hours vet clinic, they gave him the CPV diagnosis. Our normal vet gave us her cell number. My GF called her and she doesn't think he has CPV. She said she looked at his intestines real good when she had him open and they showed no signs of CPV. She doesn't trust the CPV tests, she says they're not always accurate. She said she can't say for sure he doesn't have it, but if he does, it's a very rare case. He hasn't had a fever. This is very frustrating.



 
#5 ·
When an er vet and you day vet have different diagnosises thats really hard

I'm glad Buddy is good hands :(

hoping you can get to the bottom of it so don't have to be as worried anymore
 
#6 ·
Given what parvo does to the intestines, I would think the vet that did the surgery would have seen evidence of it. Did Buddy have bad diareah as well?

I do think the snap test for parvo is pretty accurate, would have thought that it would have been run by the first vet prior to doing a surgery

Good thoughts for Buddy
 
#11 ·
Buddy was born New Years Eve and was slated to get his last set of shots and neutered next week. It's been about 2.5 weeks since his last set of shots (his 4th I believe).

I was able to change my travel plans and get home last night, but left this afternoon. Last night he looked really bad. He seemed very lethargic. He had projectile diarrhea. We went to see him this morning and he was much more alert and responsive. He's peeing up a storm which is good- it means he's not dehydrated from all the diarrhea and vomiting. They're going to try and get him to drink tonight and hopefully eat tomorrow. His diarrhea is becoming less frequent and less severe. He's also getting more responsive and affectionate - licking our face, responding to name, etc. I think he's going to be OK.
He's back at the ER vet overnight and he'll go back to his normal vet tomorrow and she's hoping to get him to eat tomorrow and send him home tomorrow night.

They checked the parvo test and this is a newer test that doesn't react with the vaccine. My vet also called the vaccine company and talked to one of their vets. Everyone agrees that the symptoms lean to parvo, but all three vets think it could be something else, but they're not sure what. The vaccine company wants another CBC done (on their dime). They all think this is would be a very rare case of parvo given his symptoms early on. Both vets told me that parvo was the last thing on their minds when he first came in, even more so after my vet examined his intestines which she said were very healthy. Either way, you can't really treat the parvo itself, just the symptoms, so that's what they're doing.

BTW- he weighs 33lbs @ 15 weeks.
 
#12 ·
CBC came back, last week his white cell count was 7,400 which is on the low end of the normal scale, 6,000 to 17,000. His count came back today as 1,000. The Vet says be'll probably won't come home until the end of the week.
 
#14 ·
Well Buddy came home tonight!! He's still not better but he's getting better. His white cell count came up yesterday. He had a fever last night but it was gone today. He's more alert and drinking water. They did a parvo test last night and it came back negative. hmmm.. He's only home for tonight, he goes back tomorrow to see how he does. They thought he's at a point where it's ok to go home for the evening, and being home will probably help his spirits. They're going to try and get him to eat tomorrow. I have a feeling he'll be hungry.

I must talk about my vet, Dr. Katherine Benton of Charleston Heights Vet Clinic in North Charleston, SC. They're normally closed on Wed. They offered instead of having buddy go back to the 24hr ER vet, that they would come in today just for him. They are so awesome, and they really care about Buddy like he was their own. I took her up on her offer for two reasons. One, better care in a more positive environment. Two, they allow visitors anytime for as long as you want. My girlfriend took off work (I'm out of town to pay for all these bills) and stayed with him all day. A vet tech came in this morning, Dr. Benton came in this afternoon. The receptionist came in this morning, and came back again with her son this afternoon. All these people are normally off on Wed and all were happy to be there for Buddy. My girlfriend had a Dr. appointment this afternoon and came back to the vet and the receptionist and her son were back there petting him. They normally open at 11am tomorrow but are coming in first thing in the morning to see Buddy. She's also been actively dealing with the vaccine company, sending them samples, talking to their vets, etc. in hopes of better understanding how he got this.

My girlfriend, Dawn, was just diagnosed with Leukemia a few weeks ago and has been blogging about it. Her latest blog post is about Buddy and this whole ordeal. I thought it was good and she said I could copy it here:

From: http://www.goshdawnit.com

"He's Home!

Parvovirus. We went from a gas blockage to a virus that can cause death in puppies. Luckily we caught it early and he was put on fluids right away. Buddy is a rare case because he didn't present with the symptoms of parvo, they came on throughout the week. The poor guy has been shuffled from his vet to the ER vet all week. He has been soo sick, for a while there I was questioning if he was going to live through this. Every time I saw him he looked so miserable, so depressed. All I wanted to do was sit with him all day and night. If it weren't for work I would have been able to stay with him during the day at his vet, but on Sunday night the ER vet put him in quarantine and I was no longer allowed to visit him after I dropped him off. It tore me up. I hated knowing that he was in a tiny cage where he was one of many. Not getting special attention or the love that I wanted him to have. The complete opposite of when he stayed with our vet. They love him there, and cared for him. Always visiting and petting him. They are normally closed on Wednesday's but they came in on their day off just for Buddy. Plus I was able to take the day off today and stayed with him all day. After a week of continually getting worse he finally improved today. We were holding our breath when he finally starting drinking this afternoon. I got so excited with the prospect of maybe being able to bring him home. It was a waiting game. Waiting to see how he would do. If he would stop vomiting and stop having diarrhea. But so far so good, and I was able to bring him home tonight. It is so good to see him walking around. Sitting outside sniffing things. Drinking water. He's slowly getting back to his old self. It's so relieving to see that he's finally turned the corner.

It has been such an emotionally stressful week for me. I've had a really hard time dealing with my little guy being so sick. I haven't been eating or sleeping like I should. I've just been so scared and so worried. I can't describe the emotions I've gone through this week. I had no idea how attached I was to my puppy. Mike has been gone almost the entire time Buddy has been sick. He was able to get off in between shows to come home for a few hours to visit Buddy. I know that it helped Buddy to have his daddy home if only for a few hours.

How ironic that he ended up with Parvovirus, a virus that makes his white blood cell count go way down, at the same time that my white blood cell count was incredibly low. Then come to find out, my white cells have been rising at the same time his have, causing us both to get better and him to be able to fight his infection. Strange."
 
G
#15 ·
Just saw this. Sorry to hear about Buddy and your GF.

Did they finally confirm Parvo? You say that the Parvo test came back negative but in your GF's blog, she says it is Parvo??

What did the vaccine company say? Are they assuming any responsibility? Was parvo one of the vaccines he received a couple of weeks before he came down with the illness?

Hope everyone is feeling better!
 
#16 ·
jlab said:
Just saw this. Sorry to hear about Buddy and your GF.

Did they finally confirm Parvo? You say that the Parvo test came back negative but in your GF's blog, she says it is Parvo??

What did the vaccine company say? Are they assuming any responsibility? Was parvo one of the vaccines he received a couple of weeks before he came down with the illness?

Hope everyone is feeling better!
Yes, they confirmed parvo. The first parvo test came back Strong positive and his subsequent blood work supported that. They did another parvo test later and he was done or intermittently shedding the virus which is why it was negative.

My vet has been working with the vaccine company, sending them samples, bloodwork, etc. Parvo was included in his vaccine(s). I guess the vaccine company will pay for parvo tests, but not treatment. My vet sent them all my invoices anyway. She doubts they'll pay anything, but can't hurt to find out.

Buddy started eating again today, he's back to his ole' self. I finally get to see him tomorrow!!!
 
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