Enzo was given to me on Mother’s Day of 2024, 9 months after the loss of my beloved 14 year old senior dog, Titan. Enzo has been my shadow since the day he came home and in all seriousness, he is crucial to my mental wellbeing. No matter what happens, I tell myself at least I’ve got him to go home to. & while I am deeply embarrassed by having to do so, I need to ask for help making sure he and Yeti are still here for me to come home to going forward.
7/22 - We decide that Enzo needs a K9 companion. We see that an animal shelter needs to place 50 dogs by the end of the day or they’ll be euthanized. We do a meet and greet with only one dog, and she is deemed our perfect fit. Application entered one hour before the deadline.
7/23 - Our new dog is spayed and ready to be picked up. She is groggy from anesthesia but otherwise happy enough. We’ve sectioned off the bottom floor of our home for her recovery.
7/24 - Both dogs are alert, happy, eating… everything is going great. That evening, our new dog seems to sleep a lot and is not interested in food. We assumed the pain medication has worn off as we are nearing the time to give it again. At midnight, she begins to cough and spit up foamy white spit. I notice she is warm. I book a televet appointment online thinking this is a post-spay complication. In addition I make an appointment with our primary vet- soonest available 7/27.
7/25 - 8 am, we get up and she is back to happy and alert, now eating again and excited to be doing so. We think she’s good, and we keep the vet appointment just to have her cleared. Televet appointment- we go over our concerns and the televet is not convinced this is a spay complication (glad we kept in person appt)
7/26 - Enzo begins goose coughing and spitting up the same foamy spit. I am now suspicious. I call all vets in our county - no openings. I am put on 4 waiting/cancelation lists. I reach out to ER vets and am told that this is not an emergency and what I could do to make the dogs comfortable until our vet appointment. Enzo continues coughing all night but is alert, playful, eating - all else is normal.
7/27 - I wake up at 7 am and begin our routine. Potty time, breakfast, and he REFUSES all food, treats, and water. I know something is wrong because he wouldn’t turn down a crumb. He goes potty normally but isn’t himself. His temp reads 102. I start making lists and timelines for the vet. 2 pm - he lays down and puts his head in the air stretched like a giraffe. I initiate a televet appointment. During the call, I take his temperature and discover it has shot up to 105°, and I panic. We leave for the primary vet immediately. The primary vet takes action immediately to lower his temperature while our Yeti is assessed. Her temp is normal - she is given a strong antibiotic shot and sent home with more antibiotics and medication to help with her appetite. They come back with Enzo to notify me that his temperature is not going down but instead has climbed again to 107°. They notify AAVEC that we are en route.
AAVEC has taken Enzo to their critical isolation unit and we’ve been quoted $4000-$8000 depending on the duration of his stay. *carecredit approved for $8000*
7/28- I leave AAVEC at 3am after being told Enzo is critical and will be staying. I arrive home at 5am. Yeti is sleeping I set an alarm for 6:45 for am antibiotics. At this point Yeti is still eating and drinking. I notice she has nasal discharge and phone the vet once again- I am told this is to be expected and that clear isn’t alarming.
7/29- This day goes fairly smooth. Yeti and I do a couple steam shower sessions and it seems to helps with her cough. Nasal discharge increasing- her temp is stable. 5 pm I am called and told that I can come to pick up Enzo as he has broken free from isolation and injured his nose/face in the process. 7 pm I arrive and pick Enzo up- while he looks terrible compared to his normal self he does seem slightly happier. He is nervous all night and I stay awake with him to try and comfort him. Yeti sleeps just fine. Verbally I am told that this is ACIRDC and that the pneumonia is secondary.
7/30- this day is all about symptom support, trying to get both to eat and drink, rest and recover. Yeti begins having accidents even with potty breaks. Vet call- probable UTI- medication ordered. Once again, I am trying to stay awake providing symptom support. 2 am, I had dozed off but was woken to Enzo attempting to vomit only to see him collapse. I pick him up and run to our truck to make the drive back to AAVEC while holding his head to so he can attempt to breathe. I call en route to let them know I am coming in hot. He is once again rushed to isolation ICU and I’m told to head home. First I nap in the parking lot as I am sleep deprived at this point.
7/31- morning update call is skipped as they are still working to stabilize his vitals. Yeti takes this opportunity to sleep for 90% of the day only waking long enough to eat/drink/potty before going back to sleep. 7 pm Enzo update call- he is now stable but they want to keep him over night for further stabilization. He is still refusing all food/water by mouth.
8/1- Yeti is still coughing and it is now with every movement from laying to standing. Once again, I am reassured that this is normal. Enzo’s morning update call- he remained stable throughout the night and they’d like me to visit to see if I can get him to eat as he seems very anxious. I arrive at 11 am and he is very happy to see me and does eat. They immediately offer to let him come home and while I am extremely nervous, I am told that he may do better at home with me. I call and schedule a follow up with our primary vet for 8/4. This night is a very long sleepless night- he is still struggling to breathe and insists on standing over me for moral support. And we do in fact make it through the night.
8/2-8/3- these two days both dogs spend the majority of their time sleeping. I spend my time constantly taking temperatures, making any food I think they may eat, steam sessions.. etc. no new symptoms, none seeming to worsen.
8/4- Yeti begins refusing all food and water but thankfully primary vet visit day. Enzo gets reassessed and gets X-rays. His pneumonia has NOT improved. He also has bronchitis and a yeast infection. He is sent home with another antibiotic. Nausea & appetite stimulant sent home for both pups. They believe the antibiotics may be causing nausea and the reason for refusal of food and water.
8/5- Over the course of the night, Yeti spiked a low grade fever I was able to bring back down. Enzo had a vomiting episode. They finally settled for sleep near 3 am. After 7am antibiotics they went back to sleep. Still no interest in food. As of 12:30pm there is now evidence of blood in Enzo’s nasal discharge. Thankfully temps are holding steady at 101° & 102.1°.
8/6-8/8- two very very touch and go days. Night time tends to be when they’re at their worst. 24/7 symptom management. Both dogs needed to be appetite stimulate and still neither ate much. A low grade fever here and there, incredible amounts of nasal discharge but a decease in the amount of mucus vomited.
(right before bed both dogs grabbed a rope in effort to play while we didn’t allow any play just yet it was a promising sign)
8/9- this morning Enzo is very congested and tired with zero appetite. Yeti is feeling a burst of energy and having a hard time understanding why we’ve got to keep her calm.
8/10- Enzo isn’t feeling great today. He eats very little. We keep them separate so he can continue to rest. Yeti is happy to be able to lay on the couch all day and have snacks. Night is no different, Enzo gets worse with his nasal discharge and coughing.
8/11- 7am, I get up to get ready for work, give out dog meds and make chicken and rice- Enzo leans on my leg, I can feel that he is hotter than he should be. Temp check reveals 105°. Immediate cool shower and fans to try and bring it back down. Yeti has no appetite.
at this point I have missed more than a week of work, my husband as well, our carecredit has been maxed out to the tune of $8000.00. Plus another $1500-$2000 for televet/medications/primary vet visits. The cost of symptom support supplies is actually unknown because I gave up trying to keep track of expenses. However, at this point, we’ve run out of credit and possibly at the worst time with Enzo showing little to no improvement and Yeti mimicking Enzo before his initial emergency visit. I am terrified that should either of them need emergency care.. I have no way of securing that critical care for them.
*backstory for Yeti- the vet thinks she is around a year old give or take a few months. She HAS been bred. In our time with her it has become evident that she was grossly abused. She runs and soils herself when she sees or hears any of the following: belts/cords/spatulas/shoes. We don’t believe she had ever been given a toy or treat as she did not know what to do when given either. (She deserves a chance to know what love feels like)
*I may have missed a few details here and there as I am genuinely sleep deprived*
Any help would truly be appreciated from the depths of heart. If you cannot help, I just ask that you share and say a prayer for Enzo & Yeti. The thought of losing my babies is weighing on me heavily.