Sunny

Sunny was found as a stray on the west side, near El Mirage at around 4-5 wks old and 2.6lbs. She was found alone, without her mother or any siblings from her litter. Most people, thinking like rational and decent human beings, instantly wonder what accident happened that she was able to wander away and get lost from the rest of her litter…. but unfortunately when a very young puppy is found alone like this, the usual answer is that the litter got sick and the puppy was dumped. This is apparently way more common than we even realized, after asking around to others who take in puppies this young frequently, and it’s incredibly sad that this problem doesn’t get more attention!

Sunny’s original notes made it sound as though she potentially had parvo – county tested her and the results were negative, so we took her in with this expectation. Her symptoms were unfortunately pretty different than her medical notes when we finally got her – coughing, green nasal discharge and crusty eye discharge… these are classic early signs of distemper, which is the scariest thing a dog can contract. On the positive side, she does not have a fever and is not lethargic – so we are trying to stay optimistic that just MAYBE it’s not distemper. We have a test sent in pending results and are treating with antibiotics in the event that it may just be a strain of kennel cough. She is very very skinny (can feel her bones easily) and still has very pale gums – but is eating and drinking a good amount.

In the meantime, poor Sunny is quarantined from other dogs and is having the hardest time with the separation – we can see that she craves attention from other dogs and is so lonely without her mother and siblings. We gave her a larger dog-like stuffed animal that she likes to cuddle with. It’s breaking our hearts here, but with her symptoms, it’s what needs to be done for now.

Stay tuned for updates on her condition