Clara...the Final Chapter

Clara is the puppy we adopted August 17 2012, from Puppy Breath Rescue in Grand Haven. 

In this blog under 2012 you will find two posts all about our sweet, rambunctious, Black Lab mix pup.  The first post "Puppy Love Or Temporary Insanity?" talks about why I got another dog, partly because life is short or can be...
The second post "Puppy Clara"  featured her ears and how she was growing.

Well, Clara started having problems after her spay surgery at the end of November.  The vet at that clinic checked her in the middle of December and said she was fine.  The weekend before Christmas Clara started having pain. Not often, once a day, usually yipping when she got up from a nap.

So we go through the weekend, then Monday is Christmas Eve, Tuesday is Christmas, lots of stuff going on, and Clara was still having this pain coming from some where.  She would be her normal self most of the day.

 

I tried to contact Clara's regular vet, but I just got a message each day after Christmas.  There was no information online about when they would be open again.  If an emergency, take her to the emergency vet hospital in Grand Rapids.  She really didn't seem to be having an emergency.  I kept her close to home, no outings and no rough play.  Maybe her back was sore.

Wednesday, January 2nd, the vet was open but they couldn't see her until Friday.  Still Clara is fairly good but having more bouts of pain.  January 3rd, I called West Michigan Veterinary Services in Coopersville. It is distressing for me to make phone calls, I'm a bit timid. But when I called WMVS my call was immediately answered by a kind and sympathetic person.  I explained my tale of woe.  I was to call first thing Friday morning to get an appointment.

So Friday, my daughter and I took Clara to the new vet.  This vet check her out thoroughly, but tests were needed to pinpoint the problem.  Clara was vomiting once a day and having pain more often.  She was given a shot of Cerenia (nausea-controlling drug) and she was to fast for 24 hours.  Also we needed to bring in a urine sample on Saturday. 

I had done hours of research online trying to put Clara's symptoms together, nothing made much sense.  I thought maybe she had a back injury, although she had been close to home for weeks with no falls or jumping... 

 

We got through the 24 hour fast, poor pup thought I had lost my mind because I didn't feed her.  I would just give her one-third cup of water in her food dish every few hours.  The next morning I managed to capture a urine sample from the dog, that was a first for me.  Clara came along for the ride to drop the sample off at the vet.  She was feeling pretty good, of course she wouldn't walk into the building so I carried her.  We drove home, she was fine in the car. 

Clara with our granddaughter, Vivienne

The urine test came back showing no infection.  Throughout the day, Saturday, Clara was having more pain episodes.  Terrible yipping, then her body would harden with spasms.  She would lean against me, while I tried to support her.  I would tell her she was a good dog. We had been carrying her in and out of the house to potty, sometimes 12 times a day.  Saturday night was the worst.  She woke up in pain, and her bed was wet.  I really felt this was something more serious than a sore back.  But she would still wag her tail!

Monday morning, January 7, 2013, my sister Marie and I went on a different kind of adventure- she drove Clara and  me to the vet for another appointment.  They ran some blood tests, it took a long time, they thought the machine was having a problem.  Clara was just laying across my lap with her head resting on my arm.

It was a big shock when the vet told us that 6 month old pup Clara had advanced kidney disease!  Her numbers on the blood tests were extremely high, not a good thing.  I was a basket case after days with Clara having pain, I couldn't stand to see her in pain.  Any treatment held little hope, with poor outcomes. 

As much as I wanted to keep my puppy I made the decision to have her put to sleep. 
 

It has been a very sad week, but I wanted to get this post out there, in case someone might be having a problem like this with their dog.  I'm not sure how common this is especially in a puppy. 

Clara and me on a happier day

 

Thank you for your kindness everyone who was there for us at West Michigan Veterinary Services.  And, of course, my sister Marie for going through this with me.

Now we are dogless again, and though I came to care for Clara very much, I will never get another dog.

Puppy Clara

So we got this puppy ~ 4 months ago, she is from Puppy Breath Rescue in Grand Haven,
said to be a Black Lab/ Terrier mix.  I just thought I would share some pictures of Clara as she grows. 

Keep your eyes on the changes in her ears.  I'm not saying I don't like her ears, even though I have made comments about using super glue to hold them down. Of course I would never do that, you know. Just watch the Labrador ears turn into some sort of Terrier ears. 

Also at 6 months old she weighs only 20 pounds.  And her bark sounds a bit like a Chihuahua. All and all she is a pretty good pup.

This is Clara, just 4 days after we adopted her, on an adventure to Crockery Creek Open Space in Ottawa County.  (Notice the Lab like ears)  She is ~9 weeks old here.

 
 
By 12 weeks old she has found the garden, first she smells the flowers then tastes the flowers.

Now at 14 weeks of age she has gone all Black Seal on us.

Feeling very at home napping on the sofa. Hard to see her ears in this picture.

 

 

She enjoyed the garden, digging up onions and potatoes, but she doesn't have one green thumb.
What do you think?...Is that the Terrier coming out in those ears?

She is pretty sure now that this is her home and we are her people, oh but notice those ears inching higher up in the air.

          Socializing on the Grand Haven pier.

 Clara today, almost 6 months old and look at those ears!!    Aw, but isn't she kind of cute?

Puppy Love Or Temporary Insanity?

Last February we lost our 15 year old "puppy dog" to a stroke.  It was a hard thing to go through, and really got to me even though she was just a dog.  A while after she was gone, I got rid of all doggy stuff in the house.  Took back the sun room as a place to sit with no smelly dog bed or dog dishes.  There was so much less dog hair in the house, we could go away and not have to worry about the dog.  I enjoyed not having that responsibility.  Life was plenty full with kids, grandkids, husband, and siblings.

Then someone  (daughter of mine) started sending me pictures of available puppies.  She worked on me for weeks but I was firm - I really did not want a dog!  I'm actually quite lazy, so it was just easier without a dog. 

I started to weaken, only because she was so persistent!  Then one day I was a bit weak and we made plans to go to Montcalm County to meet this cute puppy named Hannah. But Hannah was adopted  by a family with 5 young girls.  Aw, good the puppy will live happily ever after and I don't have to have a dog! 

I stated clearly to this daughter of mine that I just did not want the responsibility of a dog, or the expense, or the heart break in 10 or 15 years when the dang dog dies.  She openly admitted she did not want full responsibility of a dog either, but she still wanted me to get one. 

And then out of the blue my reasoning and common sense left me.  Black Lab/ Terrier mix puppies were available right here in Grand Haven.  Just 8 weeks old and adorable.  Well I thought, and this is where common sense was lost,  LIFE IS SHORT (or can be).
My daughter is the sweetest daughter in the world, and she wanted a puppy.  Who knows what tomorrow will bring...

So in the end we went down to check out the puppies available at Puppy Breath Rescue, we walked into this house and 3 or 4 puppies came tumbling at us.  Jumping, nipping, licking, bundles of fluff.  We picked out "Kia", she is mostly black with one white paw.  I paid the fee of $100 to Brenda, then it struck me.  I had met Brenda before, she was the same nice girl in the room at the vet when we had Tilly put to sleep!

So now we have a  puppy, we renamed her Clara.  And yes the first ~ six weeks I regretted adopting her!  She is full of energy, with snapping jaws!  She bites my pant legs when I walk! She does not usually listen, but she can hear just fine. Maybe she isn't the cutest puppy ever, but now after three months, I'm coming round to her.

She is this little bundle of energy from morning until night.  She is very cute and can be sweet.  Now she is so excited when we come home to her, with her tail wagging full speed.  She is our dog now.  This is her home.

 Clara First Day Home August 17 2012  About 8 1/2 weeks old.

    Clara in the garden with our granddaughter, Vivienne.