Never Give up, Never Surrender

Distressing news from Alberta arrived on Thursday from Adine at Charisma Ridgebacks and on Friday that was upgraded to devastating news. Raimi's baby nephew Atlas, Karma's son, has contracted parvo virus at 5 months old and is in ICU at the CARE Emergency clinic in Calgary. Only Adine's stubborn insistence that something was very very wrong saved this puppy's life. One vet sent him home and said he'd he 'right as rain' in 6 hours - what might have actually happened is that he'd have been too far gone to survive. Below, at 4 1/2 months Atlas demonstrates how much promise he holds.

No one, and I mean no one, was ever more diligent than Adine about keeping parvo away from her dogs. She lost a puppy to parvo a few years ago, although she was younger than Atlas and not through her full regimen of shots, so to have a puppy who is almost 5 months old come down with it was simply unthinkable. Here is Atlas at 4 months with his Momma Karma in the fields of gold near Medicine Hat, Alberta.

The vets at the ER clinic wanted to run all kinds of tests to find out what was wrong but Adine, doG love her and listening to her Mother Instincts, insisted the vets check for parvo although they were reluctant and doubtful in doing so. A simple test revealed the truth, Atlas has contracted parvo almost two months after his last vaccination. Apparently there is a parvo strain making the rounds in North America, one which is not accounted for in the normal protocol of shots for puppies. If you have a young puppy and it starts to suffer inexplicable vomiting, diarrhea, and extreme lethargy get it to a vet and insist this simple parvo test be done, it could save your puppy's life.

So little Atlas, just starting out on his great journey, is fighting for his life in the ICU in Calgary. All my warmest and most positive thoughts are headed that way, to both him and Adine.  He will pull through and make a full recovery because as far as I'm concerned he doesn't have any other choice.