While trying to start a family vaction, my daughter and son-in-law found themselves in a whirlwind of emotions and information being thrown at them that they never wish to happen to anyone.

Playing with one of my favorite toys while out with mommy

Sleeping on mommy's shoulder on the way home after a long day.

On a nature walk with my daddy.

On Friday night (July 31) their baby, Chowder started to vomit repeatedly and just wouldn't stop which worried them so they called a 24 hour vet (at 2am) in the town they were staying in (220 miles away from home). The person whom answered the phone stated they didn't have a vet on call for the weekend and he didn't know what they could do or who they could call. That just left them in tears. They searched for hours trying to find somewhere close to take him to and did find a vet that was opening at 9am 1 1/2 hours away from where they were. They left at 7am to go to this vet so that they could be there when they opened. They were greeted by a very compassionate staff (which they were actually short staffed) and they were very understanding of the situation and started running tests immediately and were fitting them in between their scheduled appointments.

Not feeling well. Not being my normal very active self.

Waiting for first veteranarian to come get me for more tests.

They finally came to them with a diagnosis. Their baby was diagnosed with Parvo Virus. They said that Chowder would need to be in the care of a vet 24 hours a day until he was better. They gave Chowder a shot to help with nausea, started him on antibiotics and giving him SQ fluids. They wanted to have him filled with enough to last until they could get him to the only 24-hour pet hospital in Northern Michigan which was near home. They called ahead to let Bay Area Pet Hospital know they were on their way and what the situation was. They left there at about noon and reached the Bay Area Pet Hospital around 5:30pm that same day. They had to wait their turn as the hospital was checking in other sick animals. They got to Chowder as quickly as they could and admitted their baby in to their ICU section. The doctor said that he is very sick and only time will tell. He said Chowder is a very bright puppy and is still wagging his tail at the staff. His white blood cell count is down and has dropped since being there but they expect it to bottom out soon so it will start climbing back up to where it needs to be. Chowder is still not wanting to eat (this being day 3) if he does not start to eat today they will have to put in a feeding tube tonight or tomorrow morning. They will update me and I will update you when I know more. They get updates at least once a day but my daughter calls more than that because she is worried about her baby.

All of the vet care could cost up to $10,000 depending on how many days/nights he has to stay in Bay Area Pet Hospital. Any help to offset these cost would be greatly appreciated and is much needed. This will allow them to focus on making the home clean, sterile, and ready for them to welcome their baby home. Chowder was fully up to date on all of his vaccines. But puppies up to 6 months are more susceptible to getting it and his bread made him even more susceptible. Just like on us humans not everyone that gets a vaccine is 100% immune to getting what the vaccine was for.

Thank you in advance for anything you are willing to donate.

Below are just more photos of their precious baby Chowder.