Our Sweet Puppy

We have a chihuahua who was given to us by one of my former patients. His name is Ocho, named so because when we got him, he weighed about 2 pounds and is black with a little spot of white. Just like an eight ball on the pool table. Ocho is now 5 years old and he is just a delightful little dog. He is not the yippy, hyper, shaking chihuahua. He's really laid back, mostly just loves to cuddle and sit in my lap. He loves Annie and every morning goes in her room to see if she is awake yet. Before she got her bunk bed, he would jump under the covers with her and snuggle. Now he just sits on the floor and looks up, probably wondering how she gets way up there on the top.

Anyway, our sweet Ocho developed a terrible cough Thursday night. We were up a good part of the night making sure he was OK. The vet has diagnosed a type of fungal lung infection that is common here in the desert, called Coccidiomycosis, or more commonly known as Valley Fever. It kills humans and pets and is very serious. So we have started him on all the medications (FOUR) that he will need to stay on for at least 6 months to a year in order to be cured. He is now being fed canned dog food mixed with his regular food twice a day in order to keep his appetite up and take the medicine with food. By the end of the year, he is going to be one SPOILED FAT dog.

The good news is, he doesn't have some of the serious symptoms, just a cough and enlarged lymph nodes in his chest on Xray), so we are hopeful that he will make a full recovery. So far, he thinks it's great...he got to go to work with me yesterday and hang out in my office all day, he is eating food fit for a champion, and LOADS of attention.