A Sick Puppy

Jake and Gracie last June

Jake, who hardly ever is sick or refusing to play with Gracie, has been down since Sunday. Last night he coughed off and on all night. I hate it when one of the dogs is ill. It makes me feel bad, because they can't tell you where it hurts, but you can see it in their eyes that something is just not right.

Both dogs get Bordetella vaccinations. But as I found out this morning, that shot is for one strain of viral infection. It's one of the worse strains and can lead to other more serious infections. But it won't prevent the dogs from catching another virus. My boy picked up something, and it scared me.

Turns out he is okay, but now on antibiotics because his lymph nodes were slightly inflamed, and he would start to cough if the vet felt his throat. There is something going around the dog community, just as there is a nasty viral respiratory infection going around the humans. Gracie is healthy. This is a good thing, but we want Jake back on his little paws, too. As we were leaving the vet's office, two more owners came in with dogs coughing, just like Jake. Dang.

Hope you are all healthy, dogs and humans alike.
Linda