My Poor Baby
Posted on April 14, 2006 by Ching under Babies.
I don’t know who to feel more sorry for, Molly or Brian. Molly hasn’t had an appetite at all since Brian brought her home. She had some vomitting on Wednesday but Brian and I attributed that to carsickness and thought nothing further of it. When I tried to feed her yesterday morning she still wouldn’t eat. I thought I would just try again at lunch. Surely she’d be hungry then.
Around nine o’clock I received a call from Roxanne to check if Molly was eating for us. I described to her our struggle with feeding her. She told me to force Molly to eat right then because Molly might get sick if she doesn’t eat.
So I put a teaspoon of baby food in a saucer as Roxanne instructed. Baby food is all she could get Molly to eat so she sent a small jar of baby food home with Brian the other day. Anyway, Molly ate a third of it. Maybe even less than that.
Completely worried at this point, I decided to call the vet. I had previously made an appointment for Molly’s vet check on Saturday but I didn’t think she would last until then without eating so I wanted to do something right away. I wanted to figure out what we could give to her or what we could do to get her to start eating.
The vet’s prognosis was grim. She is very concerned about Molly’s anorexia. Sure she looks fine in pictures. Remember, the camera adds ten pounds. Not having any prior experience with puppies, much less toy breeds, I really didn’t know that Molly is way too small for her age.
The vet said that Molly should have a good, healthy appetite for her age. She squeezed some canned cheese onto the examination table in hopes of capturing Molly’s interest to no avail. She said a normal, healthy puppy would’ve been all over it. She’s worried that Molly is sick and with the puppy being severely underweight, she believes that Molly hasn’t been eating for a while.
She wanted to check for liver disease and parvo. We couldn’t check for parvo yesterday because Molly had just gotten a parvo shot the day before and testing for parvo that soon after would probably result in a false positive. So they took a blood sample and a stool sample from Molly yesterday and will be doing some tests on that. I’m supposed to find out today what the diagnosis is and if we need to proceed with a parvo test.
In the meantime, I have specific instructions to syringe-feed Molly every two to three hours. The vet gave me some special canned food that is of loose consistency so it’s easy to suck up with a small syringe. I also have a glucose supplement that comes in a toothpaste-like tube. I have to administer 3-5 cc per day to Molly so that she doesn’t have seizures. Small dogs and puppies are prone to hypoglycemia so I have to make sure her glucose levels aren’t too low, particularly since she hasn’t been eating.
Brian is really upset. He thinks we got a raw deal, having purchased a sick puppy. I told him that adopting a puppy is much like having a child. When that child comes out, you hope that it is healthy but sometimes it doesn’t turn out that way. We will just have to take care of Molly.
Personally, I’m hoping that the vet doesn’t find anything. That Molly isn’t sick. I’m hoping that we’ll find out today that she’s underweight because of her lack of appetite and nothing more. If I have to syringe-feed her everyday for her entire life, I will do it. The sickness is what worries me. If she does get diagnosed with either liver disease or parvo, there isn’t much we can do for her. Both conditions are pretty much fatal to puppies. They are very costly to treat (think thousands upon thousands of dollars) and there is no guarantee of survival. With Molly being so tiny, she isn’t likely to survive.
Just the thought the Molly could leave us any minute upsets me. I cried most of the day yesterday because I was sick with worry but I was glad that I could stay home to feed and care for her. I decided to stay home again today because someone has to feed her and Brian can’t stay home from work. If we don’t syringe-feed her, I’m afraid she won’t eat. I’m hoping that we can get her appetite going in the next three days so I don’t have to stay home from work next week. However, I will stay home if I have to.
I think part of the reason Brian is so upset is because he feels that Molly is taking me away from him. He starting crying yesterday because I slept on the couch to be with Molly the other night. I had to sleep on the couch again last night. He understands but at the same time it still upsets him. He’s also upset that she won’t eat. He says it’s not normal to have to go through all we are going through to nourish her.
I am sad that Brian is depressed. I’m sad that Molly isn’t healthy. But I am happy that she is with us. I love her and will do my very best to get well.
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Replies to "My Poor Baby"
pinayhekmi on April 14, 2006
This is almost exactly what happened to my Mini-Schnauzer Toby and me and woody. Except it wasn’t that he wouldn’t eat. Did you research how to choose a healthy puppy before you picked Molly? I had to bring Toby back to his breeder 10 days after I got him. I hope Molly gets well cause I know how much this sucks.
Ching on April 14, 2006
Tin,
I didn’t really know how to choose a healthy puppy. The extent of research we did was what kind of breed (or in our case, hybrid) we wanted. She seemed kind of frail to me when we checked her out but she was loving. She gave me kisses all over and I was sold. Her frailty we just chalked up to her being a mix of toy breeds.
What happened to Toby? I’m glad you were able to return him. I’m afraid to think about returning Molly because she might get killed. I don’t want her to die.
The vet didn’t find any evidence of liver disease but they are thinking she might have adisons. She’s at the vet right now for some tests. I’m hopeful that they won’t find anything and that she’s just a finicky eater. I hope she finds her appetite soon because I’m really worried about her.
Ching on April 14, 2006
Jen,
It’s not funny! This is serious. Brian and I are really worried. If you have time today, you can stop by. We are staying home with Molly so we won’t be playing poker.
Life After Marriage » Blog Archive » A Love Song for Bobby Long on April 14, 2006
[…] Brian warned me not to watch it. He said that it’s depressing. I don’t know how he knows. He has never seen the movie and refuses to watch it.  The story begins a little  depressing but it does have a happy ending. It’s a great movie. You all should watch it. For a moment it made me forget about Molly’s plight. […]
« Molly’s First Vet Visit « this post » A Love Song for Bobby Long »
Jenni on April 14, 2006
Ray said his puppy did the same thing the first time he took her home. He says it’s probably scared since it was first born, one the breeder can’t pay attention to one when she’s got others to take care of, and two your house is kinda crazy with all the pets you already have plus it’s still new to her. He says try peanut butter or bacon strip which his current dog Heidi loves. He says if you don’t have any of those remind us and we’ll bring some. Molly might just need cuddling. Either way, even if it was $500, I’m glad you took her home because I know you’ll take good care of her. I’m sure she’s alright.
P.S. I can picture you whining to the dog to eat, don’t do that, I hate the voice you do, and frankly I’d kill myself too. Just joking.