Our Chihuahuas!

Our Chihuahuas....

10/01/00: Chiquita had four pups early Friday morning (just after midnight through 2:30), two whopping girls and two *very* tiny boys -- who were too tiny to suck, much like a human preemie is. I have spent the last few days and nights awake around the clock feeding and keeping the boys warm. The vet gave me no hope, but I was bound and determined to try. The third born and second boy was born sickly. He aspirated and had a hard time coming around. He was weak from the get go. He kept me up all night after he was born....crying, cause he was alone and couldn't get back to his mama, so I'd put him back, and he'd always end up alone again (I asked the vet if his mama was nudging him away on purpose, and he said "probably so", but she was very attentive to all four pups yesterday and still is today, so I don't think so. He was so cold and really never warmed up, despite the heating pad :-( The vet gave them iv fluids to rehydrate them and told me to feed them every two hours, given them glucose water, and put them on a heating pad. Well, both boys perked up and did so well until last night. Boy two quit eating completely. I could hear congestion, so I assume he got a cold. I was up every two hours, so I cried each time, thinking he'd be gone when I got up again. That poor little guy......I have cried so much and so hard that my eyes look like I'm stoned :-( I tried feeding him despite his objection, but it was to no avail. He died this afternoon in my hand!!!!! :-( I'm still crying...... Boy one (the second born) really has done well and was fiesty as all get out until earlier this evening when he didn't want to eat. He was choking on the "puppy formula", like it was too thick for him, plus the smell and taste is awful -- yes, I tasted it. He would gobble down the sugar water, though, like it was going out of style, but he was getting weaker and dehydrated again. His pink nose and paws were getting pale, and I became so frustrated and hurt. I really can't take this :-( I don't know if what I'm doing is right or not, but I tried him on Enfamil with iron, and he sucked down five ml five times and didn't choke, and he seemed to enjoy it. I fed him again an hour later, and he sucked down 5 ml three times and had a full belly. He is more active now and seems to be rehydrating. I was so confident that he was going to make it that I named him this morning.....Renito (Ren just because and ito for little one), and I call him Reny. I bonded with both boys so badly, and now he's my boy! I will continue feeding him every hour until he is better despite how tired I am and that I have to work tomorrow. I will bring him with me if I have to (unless my daughter can feed him and watch him)! Reny tries to suck and did so twice, but he doesn't have the strength to stay latched on. The girls are so big and so strong that they pushed the boys out of the way, and the poor little babies didn't stand a chance, really. Boy two tried to suck once but that was it...only a try. He was too pitiful :-( They both did well sucking on the syringe, though.

I have talked to several people who breed chis for a living and/or as an added income, and they talked about losing some here and there, and it was part of the "business" - like it was no big deal :-( The major difference between me and them is I'm not doing this as a living and/or as an added income and it hurts like hell to see these babies suffer and die and/or die at birth :-( These chis are my "other babies" (aka kids), whether they become part of my family or I give them to other loving families!!!! The little ones really have no chance for so many reasons. Our first litter must have been a miracle, cause they all lived with bottle feedings. These two boys are about the same size Hercules and Tiny were when they were born -- the difference being those two could suck and latch on, but their mama had no milk. They, too, were cold, though, as their mama wouldn't cuddle them and etc. I just pray I can save Reny's tiny life!

As far the two girls, take a look for yourself. They are monstrous in size, fat, and fiesty as all get out. Needless to say, they are doing just fine and need no help except from their mama.

Here are a few pics of the pups.....

October 3, 2000: I took little Reny to the doctor yesterday morning just to see how he was doing. Surprisingly, the doctor said he was MUCH better than when he saw him on Friday and he wasn't dehydrated, his lungs were clear, etc. He gave me so much encouragement when he told me to just keep doing what I was doing and to keep trying to get him to nurse, that eventually, he would be able to latch on and stay on. I was so happy and felt Reny was gonna make it. Unfortunately, I had to leave him home, and my daughter promised me she'd feed him every two hours and watch over him. I did not want to leave him, but I had no choice. It was leave him or not work, and who can afford not to work?! Nobody I know of!!!! In retrospect, I would give anything to relive yesterday and say "to hell with the money, I'm staying home". Having said that, I'm sure you know where I'm going with this.

At 12:30, my daughter called and told me she was feeding my little guy and he was eating like mad. Fine and dandy. At 2:30 my other daughter calls to tell me she needs to go to the hospital (she's due in five weeks), as she thought her water was leaking (it wasn't but she does have a urinary tract infection). Then she calls me back and tells me she can't wake up Reny -- she was going to feed him. I told her I'd wake him up when I got home, that he probably had his belly full and was just sleeping really hard. I got home at 3:30, but when I picked up my little guy, I knew he wasn't just sleeping. He was posturing (throwing his head backwards) -- classic brain damage :-( Then I felt the heating pad, and I immediately checked the control. I freaked out. It was on HIGH, and I was in a complete daze as to why! I turned it down to low again, kissed my little guy, and gave him my blessing, all the while crying hysterically :-( It didn't hit me till hours later that the heating pad must be what hurt my little guy -- I was sitting there thinking and reliving what I saw when I got home and trying to figure out what happened to Reny -- did he choke and aspirate? Did something fall on him? Did Chi step on him? Then it hit me, Oh my God!!!!! The two girls were off the pad up against the basket, and Chi was on the opposite end. The only baby on the padded area was my precious litle guy :-( (No sleep for me to speak of in three days, plus everything else on my mind, my brain was not working at it's full potential yesterday!) When I asked my daughter why the pad was on high, she said she forgot to tell me that her baby was playing with it and that she must have done it. I asked her why she didn't check the control -- she said she didn't think. I was hysterical at that point, wondering just how bad my poor puppy suffered while he was being "fried" :-( I wish now I had not listened to the vet and gotten that stupid heating pad (it was his suggestion to keep the little guys warm) -- there was a sponge on the pad itself with a cover, and then I had a towel on top of that, but....... High was still way too hot!!!! I wish I had never gone to work yesterday and left my pup. I wish my daughter had been more responsible and had checked the control after she saw the baby had it in her hands, and I wish she had watched Taylor and not let her play around the pups (they should not have been in my room except to feed Reny). I wish she had been holding Reny during that time instead of him being helpless on that extremely hot pad. I wish so many things, and as much as I wish, I can't change the tragedy :-( It was needless, tragic, senseless, and you name it. I can't stop crying, and of course, I blame myself. I was always right there watching over the pups and making sure they were safe. My daughter, unfortunately, is not me :-(

My precious little guy died last night in my daughter's hands while I was at the hospital :-( I will **NEVER** get over this :-(((((( God keep you close, sweet little Reny!!! I will always love you!!!!! :-(

I have to say this, too. I hear a lot of people say animals are dumb and other such ridiculous comments. If those types had seen Chi react to the death of her babies, they'd change their minds. They have feelings and show them. She cried and would lick them and nudge them, trying to wake them up. When Taco died, she literally cuddled him up and put her nose over him, and we all lost it. That was just so sad :-( I didn't see her last night, but my daughter told me she would cuddle Reny and try to wake him up. My daughter would wrap him and then Chi would unwrap him from his "blanket" (a wash cloth). After I got home, she was crying and licking him while I held him and said my goodbye again. Now, when she looks at me, the look in her eyes is so sad! :-( I just hold her and we cry together :-( When any of us touch the girls now, Chi is hysterical :-(

July 22, 2001: It has been a while since I updated. The two girls Chi had back in September have both passed on. One died suddenly from what is suspected to have been lead poisoning and the other was hit by a car :-( People, in general, do NOT take care of their dogs like I do :-( I try to keep track of where my puppies are and how they are doing. Paco and Torrie are alive and doing well. Rebel and Latasha are alive and doing well. Rocky is alive and doing well. Rolly, however, passed away from a kidney infection that turned into kidney failure :-( Of course, all of my babies are doing fine.

I discovered Chi was pregnant again about three weeks ago, and from the size of her belly, I knew she was going to have a lot of babies. In the past three weeks, she grew to an enormous size..much bigger than her mother was when she was pregnant with her sextuplets. Poor baby! She would grunt with every breath and was just SO miserable. Since I had no idea when she got pregnant, I had no idea when to pinpoint an estimated delivery date. I kept rubbing her belly and asking her when she was going have the babies before her belly exploded.

Well, on Friday, the 20th, she jumped on the couch by me around 2, and despite being cool, she was panting. I knew she was in labor. The other two times, she cried in pain. Not this time....she just panted. We bedded her down, and right at 3, she delivered her first puppy -- a beautiful boy. We sat there and watched her for the next three hours before she finally delivered another boy. Then during the next three hours, she had four more babies...FOUR BOYS AND TWO GIRLS! I keep swearing that the first four were all boys, but my son swears the fourth pup was a girl, then a boy, and then a girl. I remember checking each pup, and saying it's another boy. Oh well, that really doesn't matter much! :-)

I'm still in awe that Chi had SIX babies!!!!! Just like her mom did. All six babies are absolutely beautiful and healthy. They are all so strong and fiesty little babies, too. ChiChi is the best little mom and takes such good care of her babies. I'm in love with them all, and it's going to be hard not to keep them all!!!!!! The runt is a little girl, and she is just adorable! She's all light brown like one of her brothers. The others are all marked with white. One boy has a white tip on his tail like his mom and the white stripe on his face goes down his back some. He is definitely unique. My son has tagged him "Stripe". The first born boy is called Coco -- my granddaughter took one look at this tiny "doggy" and said "Co-Co", and my son said "That's his name." He has also named the solid colored boy "Brownie" and calls the little girl I like so much "Cookie". The other two are nameless as yet.

I have been taking pictures like mad and will post them as soon as I get them developed.

August 19, 2001: We had quite a bad scare three weeks ago with Chi. She started trembling real bad and then lost the use of her legs. I rushed her to the doctor, and when he took one look at the babies, he couldn't believe how big they were at eight days old. He said they were depleting Chi's calcium and that is what was wrong with her. He gave her Valium to stop the shakes and then gave her calcium three times and some glucose. Within 30 minutes, she was trying to walk and barked at the doctor when he entered the room again. He told me the pups were doing great, but this might make her milk supply go away and that we would have to bottle feed them. I paniced, but all worked out well. Chi took a few days to get back to normal. She was really sick for a time with vomiting. She'd pig out and then throw up. She hated that caclium gel and would spit it out immediately or vomit later on. She had gotten so skinny, too. I bottle fed the babies, and they ate like little pigs. They are four weeks old now.

The puppies are all growing in leaps and bounds and doing well. They are eating and drinking on their own and so cute and playful. I have pictures developed, but I just haven't been able to scan then all. Coco is still named Coco and Brownie is still named Brownie. Stripe is now called Socks and Cookie is now called Princess. The other two are Renito II (Reny) and Ranita (Rainy). I know I can't keep them all, but it's going to be hard to give them up. If I do keep any, it's Reny II and Rainy. They are the smallest boy and smaller girl, and I just flipped over them :-)

When I finish getting all the pictures scanned, you can see them here.

September 16, 2002: New pups were born on June 7, 2002: Here are some pictures I have scanned, and I will add more in time. At seven weeks of age, Bosco and Peppy were 2-1/2 pounds and 2 pounds, while Angel and Tippy were 1-1/2 and 1 pound.

December 29, 2002: At six months of age, Angel and Tippy were both 2 pounds. If I had to guess on the boys' weights, they are 8 and 7 pounds. What a major difference!

August 11, 2003: We had two sets of new pups...Rainy had three babies (two boys, one girl) on May 27, and Chi had six babies (five girls and one boy) on May 30. She had two very big girls and the others were extremely small. The boy (the smallest) and one girl didn't live long at all :-( The next smallest girl was just adorable, and I fell so in love with her. I bottle-fed her for 10 days around the clock, and she was growing in leaps and bounds...till June 9 when she had a massive heart attack in my hand in the middle of nursing a bottle :-( I had named her Star, and I will always mourn her. During this time, Rainy went out for a bathroom break when her babies were seven days old and someone took her--she was never found, either!!!!! :-( So, we bottle-fed her three. Chi, being their grandma, took over their personal care, as well. She didn't know the difference and thought they were hers.

The remaining six pups thrived well, even the smallest remaining girl of Chi's. She was as small as my Star, but she held her own and didn't seem to be bothered by the larger girls like poor Star did. Star would get knocked around a lot and didn't get much food. That is why I supplemented her with a bottle, and she ate like a pig.

My neighbor's mom who had adopted Precious was surprised with Rainy's daughter. Precious died right before Christmas, and she was besides herself. I had told her daughter that I would give her mom one of the babies. Needless to say, they couldn't believe it. She has spoiled this baby rotten and named her Precious after her great-great grandma.

I ended up keeping Rainy's smallest boy. When I'd bottle feed him, I'd melt, and I knew he was "mine". I named him Rke (Ricky). I also ended up keeping Chi's smallest remaining girl who we named Skye (bka as Gizmo--as she reminds me of a gremlin--she is a twin to my precious Star, too). At their first checkup, they were 1 pound and 13 ounces, respectively :-)

I sold the other three pups, even though I didn't want to see them leave, and I also gave Coco and Peppy away to loving homes, as well. (Bosco died a few months ago, and we have no idea what happened to him. He was healthy as a horse one minute and dead the next!)

Tippy and Angel love the new babies and dote over them, but Hercules isn't too thrilled with them. I keep all of these little ones with me (yes, I baby them and spoil them rotten, and do not want anyone stepping on them) while my other larger dogs (Teddy and Chi) have a room of their own. Photos!

8-14-03: I took Ricky and Skye to the doctor for their second boosters this morning, and all is well--Ricky weighed in at 1 pound 8 ounces while Skye is 1 pound 3 ounces :-) They are both very healthy and doing okay. Neither one appreciated the shot or the nose drops, and Skye is yapping in pain every time she moves her neck/right leg :-( She didn't react this way with the first shot, and it's scaring me :-( She looks so pitiful, too--you can tell she hurts :-(Ricky, on the other hand, is playing like nothing happened to him.

8-25-03: I had an emergency this afternoon, something I don't think I'll EVER get over. To say this has been an emotional afternoon/evening/night is a huge understatement. Every day, when I finish my part-time morning job, I play with my babies, and today was no different. Angel and Tippy were jumping around on my bed, kissing me, playing with each other, etc. All seemed well. When the kids got home from school, Tippy and Angel were barking at them and running around the room. Within 30 minutes, my sweet and precious Angel Baby got deathly ill, and I mean DEATHLY. She was vomiting bright red blood and passing bright red blood per rectum. I rushed her to our vets' office, and he checked her out and told me it could be a number of things, but he strongly suspected "hemorrhagic gastroenteritis", something, I found out later, that is understandable but not explainable. I misunderstood our doctor and was under the impression this was not that serious :-(

He wanted to keep her and put an IV on her, but I couldn't leave her. There is nobody there 24/7. I love her with all my heart and soul, and that is why I couldn't leave her in a very cold stainless steel cage with nobody to care for her. So, he gave her a huge dose of IV fluid, some kind of equine serum, and an antibiotic, and we came home.

I tried to work and watch her. I cried nonstop, as I watched her get worse and worse, and I really couldn't believe this. I mean, she was perfectly fine just an hour before she got sick and she even barked at dogs in the waiting room at the vet clinic!!!! I was trying to work and couldn't concentrate. She had vomited only once since we got home, and it was "a darker blood" that had been sitting there for a while so I felt like she might be getting better, and she didn't have any more rectal episodes for hours, but when she did, it was bright red and a lot. She was crying on occasion and just looked horrible.

So, we called the new emergency hospital in this area and went right over around 9:30. Angel's temp was 98 earlier and now was down to 92, and she was really critical. The doctor told me the same thing that our doc had said, hemorrhagic gastroenteritis. I now understand what it means and all, but why? That's the tricky part. They don't know why it happens, especially in smaller dogs. They can't explain that, and the treatment is not a definite cure but the only cure they know. They do what they can and hope for a recovery. The doc told me, generally, when they do a culture, it'll come back as a "clostridium" (a term I'm familiar with), a bacteria (there are different types). This really sounds like something out of the Twilight Zone.

She did blood work, and the hematocrit was extremely high which was causing the bleeding. So, they needed to get that down and get her temperature back up to a more normal level. She would get IV fluids (warmed), more antibiotics, and probably some kind of medicine like Tagamet (cimetidine) which is a histamine H-2-receptor antagonist, to help coat the stomach and intestinal tract. The doc told me Angel had a good chance at survival if they could get the hematocrit under control and get her temperature up, as she still seemed strong, but she was critical. So.....

Needless to say, I had to leave my precious baby at the hospital. She's in ICU, though, with around-clock doctor and tech right there checking on her.

I cried hysterically, to say the least, and when I had to say "goodbye", I nearly died. Angel looked at me as if to say "Mom, why are you doing this to me?" It was heart-breaking :-( I cried all the way home but had to get a grip as I couldn't see.

I called them the minute I got home, and she was "holding her own" and resting peacefully. I called again about an hour later and talked to the doctor who told me that the blood count thing had dropped from 62% to 61%, her temperature was up to 96, she was more alert, and she looked much better than when I last saw her, but she was still critical. This was good news. I called again about an hour and a half later and talked to the tech again, and she was laughing. She had just checked on Angel, and Angel got up and walked to the end of the cage and wagged her tail at her! OHMYGOD! I want to get excited and all, but I digress. Angel had also become a little vocal and would whine loudly for someone to come in there with her and then quiet down when they did :-) Also, her temp was up to 98 :-) I'll call again soon, as they were about to draw blood again and see what the count is now. The last two times I called, the doc and I and the tech and I had long conversations :-)

Poor Tippy (and even Hercules) is completely lost and besides herself. She could sense something was wrong earlier and would dote over Angel, but when we didn't come back home with Angel, she was miserable. She kept looking for her and would come up to me with this really sad look in her eyes. I was still crying hysterically and would hold her and kiss her, and I would swear she was crying, too. It's like she sensed her sister was in danger.

The plan is that I'll pick her up at 6:30 a.m. (I can't sleep, so I'm staying up all night!!!!) They will fax all the records to our local vet, and then I'll bring her back there when they open at 8:30, and we'll go from there.

I just keep praying that my baby will pull through this. From the sounds of it, she's doing MUCH better! Hopefully, I will have terrific news to report later :-)

8-26-03, 7:15 a.m.: Someone lied to me. At 5:00 a.m., so said, everything was fine. Her temp was 99, and her HCT was still down, she was pink, and getting ready for me to pick her up. Just 20 minutes later, the phone rang, and when I saw their ID on the box, I thought "They want me to pick her up now." I mean I had just talked to the tech and all was well, and the vet said they would only call if Angel turned bad. Well, I knew that was not the case, or was it?

The vet was very somber and started talking, and I just screamed NO over and over again, crying hysterically. She said something about Angel having a seizure and despite giving her Valium and doing CPR, they couldn't bring her back. If she said anything else, I don't remember. I was completely hysterical. We immediately went to pick her up, and I remember nearly passing out when I saw her "box", and then when I saw her, I remember talking to her and telling her to wake up. When I touched her, her whole body was warm--very warm. I knew she couldn't be dead!

I was then told when the tech hung up with me and went to check on Angel, her temp was 103.2. It's no wonder she had a seizure. Her temp was just 99 and shot up to 103+. I didn't say anything to them, but I wanted to ask what they did--overload her tiny, 2-pound body? Did they kill her or was she bad the whole time and they lied to me? I'll never know.

I brought my baby girl home in their makeshift coffin (nicely done with blue paper under her body and over her body, and her body well layed out). I was told Angel went peacefully, but when I looked at her face (I held her tight!), that is not the case :-( I don't want to let her go, but I have to :-( My Angel Baby....a real angel now :-(

To my sweet and precious Angie, my Angel Baby, I wll never get over your absence in my life. My heart aches and always will. Just yesterday, all morning long, you and Tippy sat at my feet and slept while I worked (and this was all the time), and now you are gone forever. What am I going to do without your precious self in my life now?! Every night when I crawled into bed, no matter what, you and Tippy came jumping on my face with kisses and would run all over the bed playing till you finally snuggled next to me and went back to sleep. Time is so short and life is so fragile. You were here and healthy one minute and gone the next :-( I can't help but question why?! I'm so sorry you suffered like that! It's not fair!!!!!!

I love you so much my Angel Baby, always and forever. How I miss you!!!! Rest in peace, baby girl!

Angel 11-13-02

08/27/03: I am so full of "what ifs", so I had our local vet call, and I asked him a bunch of questions. I was feeling so guilty and thinking I should have left her with him and all. He said he had received the fax from the Emergency Clinic and was so sorry to hear about Angel. He told me that they lose more dogs than they save with that HGE, even when they catch it early like we did with her, and he said that he didn't think the outcome would have been any different had I left her with them to begin with. I still think it would have, though. I mean she was not critical at that time....if only I had been properly informed on what was really going on :-( I asked him what could possibly have caused her spike in temperature...did they overload her, overheat her, or what. He said if she had been running a fever, the dehydration caused the temp to go way down and then when she was adequately hydrated, her fever shot up, and that is probably what caused the seizure. We will never really know. I told him how the other vet said she went peacefully, but I didn't buy it by the look on her face :-( He mostly listened to me while I talked--kinda lost for words, I guess. He did say this was a devastating illness that comes on rapidly and there's just not much chance for survival in such a small dog. He also told me not to feel guilty, as I did nothing wrong and did what I was supposed to do for her and that this guilt is part of the grieving process, but.....I feel guilty beyond guilty :-(

I'm totally a basketcase and will never get over this :-( My supervisor this morning sent me a beautiful card with wishes that "the happiest of memories will soon replace the pain inside". I hope I can eventually remember the precious baby she is and how she made my life so happy by being a part of it, but right now, it just hurts way too much. I've also been chatting with some fellow coworkers at our special website. I had placed a notice about this horrid illness to warn others about it. Nobody had heard of it, either. So many sad stories by other pet owners, but it helps to talk to people who understand :-(

My Angel was put to rest yesterday evening under a tree in the front yard where I will cover her grave and mark it with a special wreath, and I will also put a little white wooden fence around it. She was buried with her special chew toy (Dingo bones) and some of her favorite snacks :-(

9-5-03: This really has been a nightmare, this HGE. I woke up yesterday morning to find Tippy sick, so I had to rush her to the vet. There are four vets in this clinic we use, and this doc is one of the four I rarely have seen in the past. Anyway, he was shocked that I would have another experience with this illness, as it is "rare". She had HGE, too. Her HCT was 64%, and she had a low temperature of 102.6. IVs and the usual protocol were started on her, and I had to leave her :-( She was doing good, though. When I picked her up at 4, she had only vomited once during the day without any blood, had no stools at all, and her HCT was down to 49.6%. Her temp was also down to 101.

I brought Tippy to the emergency clinic for ICU overnight observation and continued IV fluids, and she was as fiesty as all get out. The doctor here said he wasn't surprised that two sisters would have it, as it's not uncommon! So many controversies over this illness and no real answers as to why.

Tippy did not want to stay in that cage and wanted me and me only. Of course, I was worried beyond worry, but I felt she was okay. Around midnight, I went to check on her and visit. Apparently, she sat at the cage door the entire six hours prior. When she saw me, she about killed herself trying to get out. I had to hold her a while to calm her down. It was rough leaving her again, and she was WILD. We went next door to a store that is open 24 hours, and it ended up being a very long night. Right before 6, the doctor walked over the get a drink, and he told me that there was someone over there who was desperate to go home. Even though I knew Tippy was okay, I still had this incessant fear I would get that same call I got about Angel :-( So, that was a huge relief! When we walked in the door, the doctor had Tippy in his arms, and she about jumped from him to get to me :-) Tippy cried all the way home cause she wanted me to hold her.

The first thing she did after running around the room was eat like a pig :-) Just as she settled down and started to get some sleep, it was time to go back to our clinic for a check. He sent her home with some kind of stomach medicine and with her IV still in "just in case". He seemed really shocked that she had done so well but was quite pleased. I have to take her back tomorrow morning for another check and to get the hep-lock out of her arm.

Tippy has spent most of the day sleeping. I doubt if she slept at all any of the time she was at either place. Poor baby!

I'm so grateful to have Tippy here :-)

Of course, I can't help but wonder if Angel would still be with me had she received the proper treatment to begin with :-(

12-19-03: As unreal and unbelievable as it is, almost exactly two months to the date later, Tippy got HGE again! It was Sunday, December 7. I completely lost it when I saw the one episode of blood on the puppy pad and rushed her to the Emergency Pet ER again for another all nighter, but this time was not for just obversation. Tippy was sicker than she was before but with vomiting of blood this time, which turned into constant vomiting of bilious fluid all night long. We had two lady vets taking care of her that night (they switched at midnight). The second one asked me if I had ever given my dogs people food as treats, and I must admit I did. It was then that she told me anything with pork is a definite no-no, as pork is the #1 cause of C.diff that is the main bacteria that causes HGE. When I told her that my babies had gotten ham Thanksgiving day and then some vienna sausage more recently, she said it would have had to be within the past couple of days, so that wasn't it. Both docs told me they see at least two cases of HGE a week and that small female poodles are the ones hardest hit by HGE. I still couldn't get the pork issue out of my head. The babies had just had a lot of vienna sausages as treats, despite it being two days prior for the last one. Tippy loved those things.

Finally, we brought Tippy home with her bag of IV fluids still attached, and then I took her to our vets' office. Needless to say, they were shocked that she had it again. Dr. N. checked her out and wanted to keep her, but that ER stay had completely drained me. So, he let me take her home with her IV and instructed me on how to adjust it and take it out when the level of fluid he wanted her to have was finished infusing. He also sent her home on Reglan. I mentioned the issue of pork, and he told me "that is debateable." Well, I kept her in the small doggy den and watched her IV nonstop. She wanted out and whimpered a lot, but.....I wanted her to get the rest of her fluid and had to just ignore her attempts to force me to let her out.

At noon, however, when I checked the IV again, I noticed it was infiltrated (everything was wet, leg swollen, and blood in tube). So, I called the office and took her back in for them to take it out. She would not even let me cut the tape off, and I did not want to chance breaking the angiocath off in her vein. The tech took her right in, and it took three to hold her down (a 3-1/2-pound dog, no less) to cut the remaining tape and get the cath out of her. Dr. N had told me earlier NOT to let her eat or drink that day, but the minute we got home, Tippy ate like a pig. I couldn't stop her (and wasn't about to, either). She didn't vomit at all once I brought her home that morning, so I didn't use the Reglan.

The next morning, I took her back in, and she saw Dr. M. this time. She was so stressed out that she vomited all over me :-( Poor baby! Dr. M. asked why she wasn't sent home on antibiotics, and I told him that Dr. N. said she didn't need any more after all she had gotten at the Pet ER. He felt differently, though, and gave her a bottle to take for 10 days. She was due for her yearly vaccines, but Dr. M. said she was too sick right now to get those, and then I told him that I had already made the appointment for 1-3-04 to bring her, Ricky, and Skye in for vaccines.

I ended up giving her Reglan twice for "nausea", as she seemed a little queasy.

Since then, Tippy has eaten like a pig and gotten so fat. She is only getting plain white chicken and her favorite canned beef dog food. Nothing else is going in her mouth, and we will see if it as pork or not. I have never seen her appetite this good. She gets chicken once a day as a special treat (Yes, she is spoiled!) and also eats nearly a whole can of the dog food each day. She is such a rolly-polly!!! Even though she is such a strong little girl to have survived this twice now, I honestly don't think she could go through it again :-(

I keep thinking about my precious Angel constantly, and despite still not having the real answers, the only thing I can conclude is that they "overheated her tiny body". I noticed both times with Tippy that they didn't use a heating pad or warmed IV fluids on her the first time and removed the heating pad the second time when her temperature reached 101. With Angel, she was still getting warmed IV fluids and was on a heating pad the whole time. It's no wonder to me now why she died. I firmly believe she was accidentally killed by overheating her :-( Her tragic death still haunts me and is something I will NEVER get over. I still hear her yapping to get out of that death trap cage in ICU when I was talking to the vet or the tech, and I keep beating myself up as to why I didn't get in my vehicle and go back up there to see her during that time. None of this can bring her back to me, but if only I had seen her again, she wouldn't have died thinking I had deserted her :-( I have talked to others about my horrible grief experience and my guilt, but nothing helps. I really don't know if time will ever heal this pain. It has been almost four months now, and there's not a day that goes by that I'm not in tears over her!

As far as Skye and Rke go, they are as precious as can be. Skye is still so teeny, and Rke is almost a twin to Angel--except he has longer legs, a brown nose, and his eye is not lazy. Angel lives on here through him and Tippy (sometimes when Tippy has her head turned, I see Angel's profile in her), and if I take Hercules' collar off, it's just too downright freaky to stand it. I need to get my pictures scanned soon.

5/23/04: New pups were born April 7, one boy and three girls, but the last two girls were stillborn. The boy (first born) is named Riley and was born solid white with tan ears, and I about died. He has since gotten some tan spots all over, is fuzzy as the day is long, and is three times the size of his sister. The second born, a girl, is as tiny as can be and is a near twin to my Angel Baby. I named her Rainbow and will call her Rain or Rainy. She's no bigger than a minute!!!! Pics are here!

5/29/04: I took the babies for their first visit to the doctor yesterday. Needless to say, they weren't too happy with the shots :-( They both yapped real bad (even Dr. M. flinched); but they have not had any side effect from the shots. Riley weighed in at 1-1/2 pounds while Rain weighed only 1 pound. They are both so darn cute :-)

7/25/04: My babies went to see Dr. M again on July 3, and they are doing just fine. I've just updated with a couple more pics. I have more coming soon. Riley grew in leaps and bounds and weighed in at 3 pounds, while Rainy was 2 pounds. They are both adorable. She is still as tiny as can be, while he is a horse! The older he gets, the more beautiful he is. The pics just don't show the detail of his coloring. He has perfect brown "circles" around his eyes and huge patches of brown on his back, and he's just gorgeous, really. IMO, he does not even come close to looking like a chi, but Dr. M doesn't see anything wrong with him *lol* It's really hard to take a pic of him, cause he will not stay still except when asleep. Rainy is so timid and shy, so it's easier to snap pics of her. She is as loving as the day is long, but she hates being held. Riley, OTOH, loves being held all the time and is completely limber. He's like a wet noodle *lol* More soon! Pics are here!

01/09/05: Just a short update....Tippy got that HGE crap AGAIN a few months ago, and I really didn't think she'd make it this time. Thank God I stayed at the ER with her and checked on her constantly, despite the resistance of the staff. She was NOT getting better, and when I checked on her at midnight (six solid hours of treatment), I discovered WHY! She had no IV in her. I threw a fit. The young (real young) doctor said she had already blown three IVs, and he had just put a bunch of fluid under her skin, which would work. I told him I hated to tell him what was what but that WOULD NOT work, and I screamed I was not going to stand there and watch her die when she could be saved. I demanded they put an IV back in her. I was livid and beyond hysterical. He did as I demanded, and within the hour, her HCT was dropping and she was perking up. Oh my God! I could NOT believe this!!!!!! I reiterated the fact that I lost her sister there a year prior because of lack of the proper medical attention and the fact that I did not bring my baby there for them to kill her. I did NOT apologize for my actions, either! I refuse to apologize to this day! Thankfully, Tippy is back to her old self and doing fine, and I just continue to pray that she NEVER gets this again. I keep insisting that there has to be some kind of chronic treatment to give her to help prevent this, but my local docs say no. People get the bacteria all the time, and there is chronic treatment, but I guess it is different with canines!?

I lost my precious Chiquita on December 27. She was 6 years old. She just got ill on the 26th, laying around (by me) and not eating, but she was alert, drinking, and wagging her tail. I checked on her through 2 am, and she was still alert, walking around, wagging her tail at me, and drinking. When I got up at 6, she was gone :-( I'm still in shock :-(

Chiquita - 9/9/98 to 12/27/04. RIP precious girl! Latest pics are here!

As you can see, Teddy is getting really old, but he's still very active and ornery as ever. He was 8 in November. When Teddy had his birthday on the 20th, we became the same age in people years, and that made him 48! I couldn't help but laugh about that! Hercules is also getting old, but he's still the same active and ornery pup he has been since day one. My others are all still so wild and spoiled rotten.

04/22/05: My poor Tippy has gotten "HGE" two more times, making a record FIVE times. She has just been out this time for a week. During her fourth episode, we changed her diet to strictly a prescription of I/D and ProPlan canned foods that I had to buy at Pet Smart. Between both kinds, I spent a small fortune. Well, that didn't work, and she got sick again, and this time seemed the worst of all--not so much with the bleeding and vomiting but with the horrific stomach cramps--I had NEVER seen her act like that, and it was awful. I was completely and totally besides myself this time and told one of the docs that I was at the end of my rope about this....five times!? He said we could try some meds this time (FINALLY)...like Carafate. So, I melt down her huge pill twice a day and force her to drink it, but I think it's working as far as keeping her GI tract in check. I haven't seen her get nauseated once since. I also have "Pepcid" to give her if needed be. Tests were finally done on her, like giardia, but that was negative. We are still waiting on the helicobacter results to come in. I was told that helicobacter is generally what causes ulcers, and when Tippy vomited the first time last Wednesday, my first and only thought was that she had an ulcer, cause the contents were "old" and rancid. The vet said it was highly possible that she could have an ulcer. I'm sick and tired of being told that HGE is an unexplainable occurrence, and they agree with me this time....there is definitely something causing her to have this--five times is just not the "norm." The next step, if the helico comes back negative, is to do exploratory surgery for an intestinal biopsy. I don't want to see that happen, but I don't want her getting this again. I've got my fingers crossed that the Carafate is doing the trick.....

On top of this, a week before, Skye had an emergency cesarean for one huge baby boy. While the doc was at it, he went ahead and did a hysterectomy on her. That baby was absolutely adorable, but, unfortunately, Skye wanted nothing to do with him. She gave him one "kiss" when I first showed him to her, but that was that. She would turn her back to him. Try as I might to feed him, keep him warm, and take care of his functions, I failed. He died at 36 hours of age :-( I have some pics that I will post here!

05/20/05: On May 3, I found out my poor Teddy was sick--he was supposedly in congestive heart failure (he was coughing, breathing very rapidly, and had a runny nose). He was placed on an ACE inhibitor, an antibiotic, a steroid, and a diuretic. He did so well at first and was almost back to normal, until he started swelling uncontrollably for which I was told several times that "nothing could be done for this." He weighed 6 pounds on May 3 and weighed a whopping 9 pounds 8 ounces on the morning of May 19--all fluid. He put up a good fight but succummed at 1:25 this morning at the age of exactly 8-1/2 years :-( RIP, preciousTeddy, 11/20/96 - 05/20/05. My life without you will never be the same. I will love you and miss you always....my sweet man!!!! :-( A few last pics can be found here!

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