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I found a dog at the shelter yesterday. She is almost 6 months old, was spayed on Thursday and yesterday was her first day in the adoption facility for people to visit with. She seemed lovely, affectionate, but showed no interest in the ball or play. She did respond to treats and followed me around the room when I moved around. She doesn't know any commands, which is fine but odd for a dog her age. She was probably stressed with it being her first day in a busy adoption facility. I was there at the end of the day and she had been visited by many people. When they took her back to her crate, she gobbled down her bowl of food (good appetite), and then broke out of her crate (it was broken and she found the weak spot, she must be smart).
But she has a cough. I asked the staff about it. They checked her records and the day she was spayed they put her on doxycycline for an "upper respiratory infection." I think that's the same thing as kennel cough?
I put a hold on her since the shelter was closing. I need to decide asap today about adopting her. After reading the bordatella thread here, I am a bit nervous. I'm still recovering from a painful dog (loss) experience which broke my heart, and I don't want to risk getting attached to a dog which could be unhealthy. Plus, she's in a room with another dog. Isn't this extremely contagious? Is there a difference between KC and an upper respiratory infection?
I don't know how long she has had the cough. The shelter was packed with people (I guess a lot of families are looking for Christmas pets or it's just a busy time of year), and she will get adopted very quickly, probably today, if I don't take her first thing when they open.
The thing is, her size and temperament are (I think) exactly what I am looking for, and qualities are hard to find for adoption (mixed breed, relatively small but not a toy, relatively submissive, very affectionate, sociable with other dogs). But something is making me hesitate, especially after reading the bordatella thread. I don't want to go through possible pneumonia, etc.
She was a stray brought into a home by a boy whose mother eventually called animal control to take the dog because it chewed on furniture and cords and wasn't housetrained. They never took her to the vet, and I don't know how long she stayed with that family or where she was prior to that. She is quite thin. Prior to that, no history is known. She is almost 6 months old and a mixed breed.
I know I am the only one who can make this decision, and I keep vacillating. The main point is that although the shelter has a health return/refund policy, I am not the type who would return an unhealthy dog. I would keep, treat and deal with the consequences. While that would be good for the dog, it would devastate me to experience another pet loss right now. I wish it wasn't the weekend, so I could talk to my vet first....
Only you know what's in your heart. If you believe that you can love her and provide her with a loving home and the stability that appears to have been missing in her life, then adopt. If you can't, then don't. Almost all of us on here have lost pets but giving her a loving home, even for a short time, is a good thing. Also, an upper respiratory infection (?) may or may not be kennel cough. The most important thing is to be able to honestly be able to give her the home she deserves.
Many shelter dogs develop kennel cough since they are in such close quarters with other dogs. It's not life threatening and very treatable. If you like the dog, I wouldn't hesitate to adopt.
Upper respiratory infection can be ANYTHING. Kennel cough is the name of a SYNDROME (a collection of signs and symptoms) and is caused by many individual organisms, both bacterial and viral. Antibiotics do NOTHING for viruses.
I wouldn't let a little cough stop me from adopting a dog who looks really nice! Kennel cough may or may not be her issue, but it's usually gone in a few days.
If it's just KC I would be ok with it (I think), but I don't know what's causing the "upper respiratory infection" - from what I have read it could be a sign of a variety of things. I am waiting for the shelter to open to see if she was tested for parvo. I don't know if she has ever received any veterinary care at all. It does not appear that she has ever been trained, but that's no problem at all. Actually, that's the fun part. I just wonder how ill she might be (and why she is sharing a room with another dog if she is ill).
When we adopted Roxy shortly after we got her home we realized she had kennel cough. It only took about a week to clear up. Then she got mange, the vet said it was because her immune system was weakened from the kennel cough. It took quite some time and money to get rid of but in the end completely worth it
Parvo causes diarrhea ...terrible, bloody diarrhea and there's no mistaking a dog with Parvovirus. They are VERY, VERY ill. And it's not infrequently fatal! If she looks well, it's highly doubtful that she has Parvovirus.
I'd not hesitate to adopt a dog with KC. I pull dogs from a shelter and they have KC all the time. I quarantine for a week or two until it passes and then introduce them to the rest of the pack. I've only had one dog that couldn't be saved. Her adopters insisted on taking her even though she still had symptoms. We'd had her in quarantine for over 2 weeks and she was still battling a very slight cough.
They did very invasive and aggressive treatment and after a week their vet said she'd never recover and they put her down. 9 week old shepherd. I was devastated. They didn't call and get our opinion. I told them if she got worse to let us know and we'd bring her back and treat her. It was horrible.
Needless to say, our policy changed and no dog is adopted until 100% healthy, not even a slight cough. They just had such a phenomenal reference and the home check went so well. We thought it was fine. Ugh. Still regret that.
Anyway, point is, I've pulled probably 50 or more dogs with KC and only lost one. And that one I probably wouldn't have put down had it been my choice.
If you like the dog, go get it and bring it home! KC will pass.
my dog had kennel cough when i got her - the shelter gave me medication for her and she got through it just fine.
some friends of mine just adopted a dog with kennel cough - she ended up with pneumonia, which was scary, but she's fine now - not ready to meet other dogs yet, and she has a little bit of a cough still, but she's not seriously ill.
I found a dog at the shelter yesterday. She is almost 6 months old, was spayed on Thursday and yesterday was her first day in the adoption facility for people to visit with. She seemed lovely, affectionate, but showed no interest in the ball or play. She did respond to treats and followed me around the room when I moved around. She doesn't know any commands, which is fine but odd for a dog her age. She was probably stressed with it being her first day in a busy adoption facility. I was there at the end of the day and she had been visited by many people. When they took her back to her crate, she gobbled down her bowl of food (good appetite), and then broke out of her crate (it was broken and she found the weak spot, she must be smart).
But she has a cough. I asked the staff about it. They checked her records and the day she was spayed they put her on doxycycline for an "upper respiratory infection." I think that's the same thing as kennel cough?
I put a hold on her since the shelter was closing. I need to decide asap today about adopting her. After reading the bordatella thread here, I am a bit nervous. I'm still recovering from a painful dog (loss) experience which broke my heart, and I don't want to risk getting attached to a dog which could be unhealthy. Plus, she's in a room with another dog. Isn't this extremely contagious? Is there a difference between KC and an upper respiratory infection?
I don't know how long she has had the cough. The shelter was packed with people (I guess a lot of families are looking for Christmas pets or it's just a busy time of year), and she will get adopted very quickly, probably today, if I don't take her first thing when they open.
The thing is, her size and temperament are (I think) exactly what I am looking for, and qualities are hard to find for adoption (mixed breed, relatively small but not a toy, relatively submissive, very affectionate, sociable with other dogs). But something is making me hesitate, especially after reading the bordatella thread. I don't want to go through possible pneumonia, etc.
She was a stray brought into a home by a boy whose mother eventually called animal control to take the dog because it chewed on furniture and cords and wasn't housetrained. They never took her to the vet, and I don't know how long she stayed with that family or where she was prior to that. She is quite thin. Prior to that, no history is known. She is almost 6 months old and a mixed breed.
I know I am the only one who can make this decision, and I keep vacillating. The main point is that although the shelter has a health return/refund policy, I am not the type who would return an unhealthy dog. I would keep, treat and deal with the consequences. While that would be good for the dog, it would devastate me to experience another pet loss right now. I wish it wasn't the weekend, so I could talk to my vet first....
Thoughts?
The dog that I most recently adopted from the Humane Society had also been a stray.
In fact, they'd named him "Chase"... probably because they'd had to chase him to capture him.
He had a shiny, healthy coat and a sweet temperament. Like you, I knew when I met him that he was the one I wanted.
My dog also developed an infection after he was neutered and before I picked him up from the humane society.
What he had caused a cough and a snotty nose. This infection was so common that they had their own name for what he had. They called it "snot nose".
Doxycycline was the medication that took care of it and it was a fraction of the cost of Ampicillin...
ViralMd is very knowledgable. You can trust what they tell you about Parvo and diarrhea. It seems that Parvo causes dogs to have a temperature.
I'm like you... I would never bring back an animal because of a health problem. I also had just lost a dog when I adopted my present dog so I understand that you don't want to go through another loss,... but I would be more concerned about not getting a dog that I've bonded with.
I really believe that dog's appreciate and know it when you've helped them feel better. It's a great way to start bonding with your new friend.
My dog has had no further health problems and I'm so glad I got him.
What a nice Christmas present for both of you!
Last edited by World Citizen; 12-21-2009 at 09:42 AM..
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