The importance of a village of mentors and friends; When a poodle puppy aspirates.

What a day. Today has been a living example of the phrase; it takes a village.

Our boy, purple collar, AKA Mighty Mouse, took a sharp downward turn after eating his breakfast this morning. At about 5:30am, MM was living his best life. By 7am, he was lethargic and spitting up his breakfast.

I immediately took action and reached out to my vet (I have their private cell numbers) and told them I was bringing in a puppy that has possibly aspirated. Then I grabbed Mighty Mouse, jumped in the van and off we went.

Aspiration is fairly common in small puppies. They can inhale liquid from nursing or weaning. They can aspirate on wormer meds or water. In MM’s case, we believe that he spit up a bit after he was wormed on Saturday and possibly aspirated a bit of his spit up. He wasn’t feeling 100% on Sunday, but he was active, eating, eliminating, and playing like a pro.

It wasn’t until Monday morning that the signs of aspiration presented themselves. Thankfully, MM didn’t have a fever, which was a huge advantage for us!

As soon as I got to our vet, which is about 90 minutes south in Birchwood, MM was brought right in. His O2 level was good. He was spitting up a lot though, and it had started coming out his nose… another sure sign of aspiration. He was immediately x-rayed and we could see some congestion in one lung. His nose was progressively getting more stuffed so MM was breathing through his mouth.

But he didn’t have a fever, and his O2 level was good.

A round of antibiotics, anti-nausea meds and some Pepcid settled him down. And then he went into the incubator with an O2 boost. We began to see improvements almost immediately. When he was feeling a little better, he had an ultrasound done on his belly and internal organs. Everything looked wonderful! He still had a full stomach of food from breakfast and he was digesting it. All good signs that, even though he had aspirated, he still had enough oxygen in his blood to allow his body to keep running at high efficiency.

My vet asked if I had an incubator and oxygen concentrator, or if I knew how to get one.

I immediately knew who to call.

My dear friend, who lives in Fairbanks, is about 4 hours north of where I live. She is the one person I knew would surely have the needed equipment. Anita has been breeding French Bulldogs for many years. She’s a responsible breeder who knows the ins and outs of breeding healthy, strong French Bulldogs. And part of the process requires incubators and O2 concentrators for newborn Frenchies.

I call Anita and tell her; “if I can borrow your equipment, I’ll start my drive to Fairbanks now!”

Anita responds, “I’ll load it up and start driving to you. Wherever we cross paths, that’s where we’ll meet and I’ll give you the equipment.”

I truly have no words for such a selfless act from my friend. She ended up driving 2+ hours south to meet me and let me borrow her equipment to save my puppy.

And then she drove 2+ hours back home.

I called my husband and filled him in, I hit the road from Birchwood to Denali Park Village, where I met Anita. While I was driving, I texted another friend, who lives near me in Talkeetna. In a series of choppy and short text messages, Charity got the point that I needed a puppy sitter to watch the 5 babies at home while I drove north and my husband drove south to pick up purple collar puppy from the vet.

You see, while I went to pick up the equipment, my husband would finish work and then drive to Birchwood to pick up MM and bring him home. Our goal was to meet at home at about the same time.

Charity was immediately on board. She didn’t even question a thing. She said “I’ll be there right at 4pm”

And so, the travel plans were laid out and we all were on our ways.

Meanwhile, MM was at the vet, fighting the good fight. His tummy settled and he stopped spitting up. His nose went from stuffy to runny. He gained his energy and broke out of his incubator to roam the clinic back room He pee’d on his wee wee pads at the vet and settled back into his incubator with his O2 supplement. Throughout the day, MM improved. By the time my husband arrived to pick him up, he was a new puppy!

During my drive, I spoke to two more friends who have a wealth of knowledge in whelping and raising puppies. Both of whom eased my mind and helped me see that I’d made good choices and we were doing everything in our power to help purple collar.

My great friend, Kathy, went over several things for me to do and watch for once MM came home. She told me stories about how puppies aspirate and how common it can be. She assured me that the lack of fever was a huge advantage and that all signs looked good for MM

I drove through wind and rain. As I crossed over the mountain range, the rain beat down and the temperature hovered just below 38°F. I worried about snow in the range.

Please no snow. Please no slush.

Luckily, the worst weather was rain and a bit of fog.

I got home around 6:30. My husband brought Might Mouse home at about 7:15. That boy was feisty as soon as he saw me! He was active and excited! Aside from a runny nose, you’d never know MM has a rough morning.

He ate his dinner and then had a nebulizer treatment with sterile water while resting in my lap. He loved it

Soon after, I placed him in Anita’s incubator and we turned on her O2 concentrator. MM isn’t sounding congested, but I’m not taking any chances. He has his antibiotics to prevent pneumonia.

It seems, all signs point to a full recovery!

I’m relieved. I’m grateful. I’m tired! And I’m in for another long night (because there’s no way I’m sleeping when a puppy is not 100%!).

But thanks to immediate action, experienced vets, AMAZING FRIENDS, and a strong, healthy puppy… all signs point to smooth sailing ahead.

Whew! And that’s the update for today!