Diseases Contracted in a Kennel Can Quickly Turn the Joy of Pet Adoption into Sorrow

Last weekend my husband and I adopted a dog from the Maricopa County Animal Control shelter. They had a huge bus parked at a local festival showcasing some of their adoptable pets. In a wire enclosure in front of the bus was a little brown/black Cardigan Welsh Corgi mix that was adorable. He didn't move around much or try to capture anyone's attention the way the other dogs did. He merely laid down or stood quietly on his short little legs with soft brown eyes pleading for a good home.

Of course my husband and I were hooked from the minute we saw him and petted him over the top of the cage. He was exactly the type of dog my husband was looking for and also reminded me of my dearly departed Sandy, a cocker spaniel mix who died two years after giving us the ultimate in love and affection for sixteen years. Along with our mutt, Colby Jack, a 60 pound big lug of a dog who has been our traveling companion since he was only two months old, the new little Corgi seemed like a perfect addition to our family.

We drove home with our new little acquisition and my husband decided to name him Yogi because he looks like a little a furry little bear. Colby Jack welcomed him by slobbering on his neck and playing tag around the yard. Yogi fit right in - eating the gourmet dog food I cook at home from scratch, tentatively getting to know our curmudgeon of a cat, Hannah, and sleeping in our bedroom at night.

Unfortunately, 24 hours later all that would change.

The following night Yogi woke up coughing and hacking and left evidence of a bout of diarrhea on the floor. By the next morning, he was listless, lethargic and showed no interest in food of any kind. I called my vet's office and got an appointment that day.

By the time I got Yogi to the vet, he was doing worse. There was a green discharge coming from his nose and every time he coughed there were great globs of mucous left all over the floor. His gums were white and his eyes had lost their pretty shine. Yogi was a very sick dog.

Our veterinarian is one of three lovely ladies who are the most caring and compassionate vets I have every encountered. Dr. Lucey immediately put Yogi on antibiotics and took X-rays of his lungs, pronouncing that he seemed to have acquired kennel cough in the pound that turned into bronchitis. Later examination of the X-rays revealed it was actually bronchial pneumonia.

I took little Yogi home, confident that the prescribed dosage of antibiotics would have him feeling better in no time. I couldn't have been more wrong.

For starters, we couldn't get any pills down Yogi's throat. Perhaps because it was so sore, he just refused to swallow them. We could literally hold his mouth closed and massage his throat for ten full minutes and when we released him, whatever remained of the pill was spit out and then he promptly threw up the little bit of medicine he managed to dissolve. Still, we persevered. It was when he continually refused to eat, that I got even more worried. There was no way this little dog could get better when he was starving himself to death.

Another trip to the vet and he was injected with a high-powered antibiotic as well as subcutaneous fluids. I was given two syringes filled with the same antibiotic so we could actually make sure Yogi was getting his medicine. I didn't have a problem injecting him; it was a quick, easy poke that was much simpler than trying to force meds down his aching throat.

But still Yogi showed no interest in food, not even warmed up chicken broth. Desperate, I called the vet's office and asked the vet tech what I could do. "We're not made of money," I explained over the phone, "And we have already amassed over $650 in vet bills." And this for an $85 adoption from the local pound!

The vet tech, Rhonda, was very concerned. "I just want to see Yogi get better," she explained as she offered to meet me on her lunch hour so she could show me how to give Yogi his subcutaneous fluids via IV at home, which reduced a $150 vet visit to $12 in supplies. As well, she gave me a couple syringes to force feed him with baby food or a canned food rich in vitamins and minerals. She suggested grinding his pills and adding it to the food when I force fed Yogi (since the medications I had already bought couldn't be refunded). I readily agreed to her offer and quickly made another trip to the vet's office. I watched as she poked a sharp between the dog's shoulder blades and began a drip of 200 cc of fluids. Easy enough, I thought. I've already given him antibiotic injections, how much worse could it be to do this?

Now I was force feeding Yogi twice a day and then grinding up his pills with a mortar and pestle and adding them to chicken broth to shove down his throat via syringe. When it came time to give him subcutaneous fluids, I bravely began to change out the sharp at the end of the IV tube. Stupidly, I took the protective cover off the needle and ending up poking myself, causing bleeding in my forefinger that didn't stop for quite some time. My husband and I managed to get the fluids into his little body, watching as a huge hump formed on his back. Yogi was not happy, but at least he was still alive and getting vital fluids.

A full week later and Yogi seemed even worse. We were beginning to despair of him ever regaining his health. Dejected, I left for a hair appointment on Sunday and asked my husband to try giving Yogi anything that might tempt his tummy. When I returned home, I was amazed to find out that our little Corgi actually wolfed down three bacon-flavored treats that were so old they were hard and brittle. Next we tried goldfish crackers (it was all we had in the cupboards as I had been spending so much time nursing Yogi I didn't have time to go grocery shopping) and he ate all of those, too. Excited now, we took a quick trip to Petco and bought up anything and everything we thought he might like, including dry puppy food.

Thankfully, Yogi now seemed to be out of the woods with his pneumonia. He began eating voraciously and we no longer had to administer fluids subcutaneously. His nose cleared up and other than a lingering cough, he is now a healthy, happy little dog. Together with a lot of prayer and daily TLC, Yogi made it through.

According to another vet, severe pneumonia in dogs adopted from the Maricopa County Animal Control shelter seems to be rather common. His theory is that during the de rigueur spaying/neutering of the animals, the vet doing the surgery is taking the tubes out of their bodies too soon, causing them to aspirate into their lungs. This makes perfect sense as Colby Jack did not get sick at the same time.

How unfortunate that by doing something they feel is a service to the community by spaying and neutering animals, the shelter is actually causing a worse problem. There are not many people adopting dogs who would be able to afford the time and money we spent on our little Yogi and would more than likely end up returning their new pet to the shelter when faced with such a debilitating illness. Back at the shelter, the animals would most assuredly be put to sleep as the agency would be unable to offer them up for adoption.

My husband and I started out doing what we thought was a noble thing - giving a dog a good home and saving him from death. What we ended up with was a pile of vet bills and a lost week caring for our new pet 24/7. While I don't regret our decision, it will definitely make me think twice before even considering adoption of another animal from the shelter, particularly since ours was not an isolated case. The "cattle call" mentality of "get 'em in, move 'em out" leaves much to be desired for the health of the dogs and cats that come through their facility. Perhaps it is time for some major reform.