Outbreak Update – Day 12

Day 12 – we’re facing heavy rain and widespread surface water after this morning’s red weather warning. On the bright side, it’s washing away some of the still-contaminated areas. On the not-so-bright side, it’s also spreading the virus back into places we had already decontaminated.

R2 is still safe. The kennels are elevated off the ground but decided not to let any dogs out tonight so we can spray disinfectant again in the morning.

All the pups recovering are inside in a warm environment, and the quarantine is inside as well. All the pups are happily munching and sipping, with a few who just can’t seem to stop eating – they’re VERY desperate, and we have to limit the portions while their tummies are still healing.

One small bub had it really hard and she is still weaker than the rest, but she also started eating and drinking a bit, and she is alert and playful. We still help her with soup by syringe and subcutaneous drip few times a day, but she is past the 72h mark and obviously making progress. Other 2 bubs just waltzed through it, with 2 days loose stools and that was about it. Could be that they developed symptoms later and the vaccines had time to kick in….

I’m not a vet—and never wanted to be—but this experience has massively increased my respect for every vet and medical professional. The pressure and stress are unreal, knowing that even the smallest mistake, omission, or delay can have huge consequences, especially when you’re running on little sleep and completely exhausted. I’ve worked in biological hazard areas before, but it’s one thing to enter a lab during work hours and a whole different story to be sprinting from one pup to another all night, every night, making fresh soup, mixing supplements, giving fluids under the skin, swapping needles and PPE on the go while barely keeping your eyes open—with four beautiful, healthy dogs waiting at home, and any slip-up could contaminate them as well.

I’ll take my time to write about this chapter in much more detail later, but first I want to see these little souls safely out of the woods.