A young lady that worked in a pet store at the local mall had gone into the restaurant that a friend of mine worked in and asked her if she wanted or knew of someone who wanted a free puppy. She text messaged her mom and it so happened that I was over and she asked me if I was interested in a free puppy. Well at first I was hesitant in saying yes because first off a puppy is a lot of work and also my thoughts were “what’s wrong with him”? Fifteen minutes later she texts again saying it’s a West Highland Terrier…still with some doubt I said to tell her I want him but first to ask the girl what was wrong with him. Her reply was that he had a low immune system and that he was kept in the back away from the other puppies and that’s why they couldn’t sell him. So I figured ok a low immune system that’s something simple that can be taken care of.
When he came home with her that night he was interested in all of us but still not too sure. The little guy had a crusty nose and smelled. As he sat there taking in his new surroundings he started coughing this retched cough. And when I held him to comfort him I could hear he was wheezy. Right away I felt bad for this little guy and I was glad that I had taken him in and was going to love him. That night at home I decided to name him after a character in one of my favorite movies, The Nightmare Before Christmas, I figured Zero was a perfect name for a Westie.
The next day at the vet I told him the story of how they were giving him for free and how they told me he just had a low immune system. To make a long story short turned out the Zero more than likely came from a puppy mill, had surgery to fix his hernia and at the same time, he was neutered. The “low immune system” turned out to be two ear infections, which one ear was already yeasty, and the cough was already turning into pneumonia. Zero was treated with two different types of antibiotics and an ear ointment plus an ear wash every other day. While Zero was on the antibiotics his cough did settle down.
About two weeks had passed when one early morning he started up again and the runny crusty nose and the coughing at this point were back full force again. I took him back to the vet as soon as they opened. Turned out that Zero’s bronchitis was back and he was going to need a treatment that I wasn’t able to afford, so the vet gave us the option of putting him back on a stronger dose of antibiotics for seventeen days with weekly check-ups. The vet did say that if the cough came back I had no other choice but to do the recommended treatment for his lungs to get rid of the cough. And two weeks later his cough was back again with the snotty crusty nose. He was not able to run around like he does because starts to cough and at times causing him to throw up and depending on how he feels his breathing at night is very rapid.
I have only had Zero for a short time but during this short time he stolen my heart and I would be devastated if anything were to happen to him. That is why I am very thankful and blessed that I came across the wonderful people at WestieMed! Because of them, Zero will soon be able to sleep well at night and run around like I know he wants to without the need to stop because of a coughing spell.
Update June 25, 2009
I just wanted to update you on Zero. Zero had his treatment the very next day we receive the check in the mail. The lab results had revealed that he had a really bad case of kennel cough and his vet prescribed a much stronger dose of antibiotics to clear him up of the infection.
Well, the antibiotics helped Zero while he was on them but once he was done with the medication his pesky cough came back along with the snotty nose. So Zero is taking antibiotics almost every day to keep the infection from getting worse.
His Vet said the next step is taking him to a specialist (which I know it is going to cost me money I don’t have) because it seems that his respiratory system isn’t functioning properly by “filtering” out the icky stuff he breaths in. He fears that it could possibly be the death of such a good pup like him. But Zero doesn’t let this bring him down! He still loves going out for walks to the dog park and play fetch or just crawl into my lap for a quick nap.
I want to thank you again for the help!
Ana & Zero
Update October 8, 2009
Zero still, of course, has his cough, but that will always be part of him. He currently is on a two week round of antibiotics since the weather change has had a little effect on him and just to be safe we decided to put him on antibiotics.
This time he went three months without any medications, thanks to his vet’s suggestion of giving him a children’s chewable vitamin C tablet every day to see if it helped to strengthen his immune system and it has helped him extremely!
We will keep you posted on his well being in a couple of weeks once he’s done with his antibiotics.
Meanwhile, enjoy a picture of him on his first birthday! What a milestone for him considering how he was when I first got him!
Thanks once again to you guys!!!
Ana
Update July 10, 2010
I just wanted to let you know Zero is doing great!
He had his second comprehensive vet exam a few months back and the vet said he was great!
Of course, he still has his little cough but that makes him special! He hasn’t had a need for a round of medication, so that’s good.
For now, here’s a picture of him getting out if the bath.
And we will be celebrating his second birthday next month, yay!!
Thanks!
Ana and Zero