Gracie was born on October 16th 2003, she was born to China & Handsome. She was a part of Mis B-Haven's First Labradoodle litter. She was the pick of the litter, we chose to keep her hoping that someday she would be able to provide many people with a beautiful F1b labradoodle puppy. During Gracie's short life she really showed so many people what a larbadoodle can be like. Many people came to Mis B-Haven's to see what a Labradoodle is all about. Gracie's beautiful looks & wonderful personality made people want one. I got many applications that actually said "I want a Gracie look alike" or " I want a Gracie Clone" or " I want Gracie" or " I want one just like Gracie" & it just went on. One family even tried to put their puppy collar on her instead of their puppy that they came to pick out, (just as a joke of course). We teased that Gracie was killing us because everybody that came wanted her & not a puppy. Everybody that even came to our house was a best friend to her (except my brother's friend Mark, for some reason she didn't like him). But lets get to how & why Gracie is no longer with us.
First let me tell you (those of you that don't already know) that back in April of 2004 we had a wonderful litter of 7 labradoodle puppies, they were 6 weeks old, & had just recieved their first vaccination a 5in1 puppy shot.
We also had a beautiful 6 month old Labradoodle Gracie, she was fully upto date on all of her vaccinations.
A few days after the puppies shots one started not feeling too well, we took her to the Vet, & they did a Parvo Test, It was Positive, the next day all 7 of the little 6 week old labradoodle puppies were sick, throwing up, diareah, & not eating, the first signs of Parvo.
I being an Ex Vet Technician for horses knew a little about treating Parvo, for our really good Horse Clients we were their small animal Vet aswell, so ocassionally we treated dogs. Under the directions of my vet, we started Sub-Q fluids immediately to keep the puppies hydrated, De-Hydration is the #1 cause of death in puppies that are Parvo positive.
These brave little puppies endured constant injections of Saline fluids under the skin, depending on the condition of the puppy determined the amount of fluids that were injected, we had to keep them in a cement kennel, that could be bleached daily, they were not allowed to leave that cement. I lived in that kennel for over 1 solid week with those puppies, I was tired, sad, devistated, confused, & all of those kind of emotions.
Gracie our 6 month old started not feeling very well, we took her to the Vet, & she tested Parvo positive, because she was not a 6 week old puppy we were able to put her on IV Fluids, Gracie just kept getting worse, she was at the Vet for 3 days, then Easter day came,Gracie needed to come home, nobody was going to be at the hospital to care for her like we were going to be able to at home. The Vet gave me fluid bags to change out when her current bag ran out.
Gracie's was completely hydrated, but it was obvious to us that her organs were shutting down, she started seeping the fluids out of her skin, eyes, nose, & mouth, she was in kidney failure. Gracie lifted her head, gave us a little tail wag, laid her head down on my knee & never lifted that beautiful face again. Gracie died at 1:00pm on Easter sunday. That day my heart was ripped out, thrown on the ground, & stomped on. I cried, & cried, & cried. I am crying writting this right now. I miss her so much.
We lost one of the 7 little 6 week old puppies also. We burried them right next to eachother under our 3 huge trees in our pasture.
The point to all of this is to help understand that no matter what precautions a breeder or owner takes, Parvo is out there, & it is on the shoes, the car tires, the stray cat that is running through your yard, the birds that land in your backyard to eat your dog food, that lost dog that wags his tail at you, the street you walk on, the park you play at, it is litterally EVERYWHERE, people, cats, birds & other animals can NOT contract Parvo, but definately CAN & DO transport it. Please do not see or hear of a breeder that has gotten Parvo & Black List them,, trust me it can happen to the best breeders, it can happen to anyone.
I am not trying to freak you all out, I just want you to be aware of this disease, when you bring your puppy home & the breeder tells you "dont take her out until she is completed her puppy series" please dont take that puppy out, I promise we are not trying to ruin your fun, we just want you to take every precaution you possibly can to prevent YOUR precious puppy from getting this disease.
Here is a few Parvo Facts:
Parvo can be transported by anything, it is highly resistant to heat, cold, water & time.
The only way to completely rid Parvo is Bleach, there is a few other chemicals out there, but Bleach is highly effective & is the least expensive. Dilute the Bleach in a 1 in 10 concentrate, & LEAVE it on for at east 10 minutes before rinsing off.
In your yard or dirt Parvo can live active in the ground for up to 1 year.
Nothing else but Canines can get sick from Parvo, your cats, kids, etc are NOT at risk of getting sick.
The early signs to watch for are, lack of appetite, lethargy, diarreah, vomitting.
The Vet can do a simple test to determine a Parvo + or a Parvo -, all they need is a stool sample.
Dehydration is the #1 cause of death for a Parvo + dog/puppy, Gracie was fully hydrated, but her organs started shutting down, this happens is the most severe cases, usually if dehydration is not the cause of death Heart Failure is the #2 cause of death for a Parvo + dog/puppy
If caught early, Parvo can be treated with successful end results, the reality for waiting days to treat a Parvo + dog/puppy (whether you know it is Parvo or not) is almost always fatal.
Gracie touched so many people & will be forever missed here at Mis B-Haven Doodles.
Gracie did live long enough to see her first Easter, she did not live to see the end of the day.
Gracie died at 1:00pm Easter Sunday. As hard as it is for Grcie to be gone It is a blessing, Gracie died from the terrible disease Parvo. She was suffering so much in the end and for her I was glad she was finally gone.
