May, 2007 - Here is an updated photo of Cody. He also has a myspace page: www.myspace.com/codybarashthedog
This is our new puppy Cody. Cody was born on June 6, 2006, and we picked him up from the Atlanta Humane Society on August 7. Cody is a Dalmatian mix, and was sent to the Humane Society along with a litter of Dalmatians. He's an amazing puppy...so playful and cute.
A couple of days after bringing Cody home, we discovered that he had a cough. Jen took him to the vet on Thursday, where they told him it was probably kennel cough, but there were some very small symptoms of a disease called distemper. Unfortunately, the symptoms grew worse over the next couple of days. He's been progressively getting worse, and he's been diagnosed with pneumonia. We are hoping and praying that the pneumonia was not caused by distemper, and that Cody will get over the sickness soon. He's on antibiotics now, and he's at the vet getting an IV with fluids.
Update 8/14 - Cody spent the day at the vet, and he seemed to be doing ok. This morning, when the vet took his temperature, it was down to 101.5, which is normal for him. When I picked him up around 5pm, we had some good news. The head vet, Dr. Woody, told us that they had another case brought in today from the Atlanta Humane Society with the same symptoms. However, this dog was over 1 year old, which means it's probably not distemper. The reason this is good news is because it's most likely pneumonia, and it came from the same place where we got Cody, the Atlanta Humane Society. Dr. Woody said he expects several more cases in the next few days.
The bad news is that we have to take Cody back to the vet tomorrow so that he can be on IV all day again. He's still not eating or drinking tonight, and he is sleeping a lot. He can't seem to keep his eyes open. We're going to hope that he gets better tomorrow while at the vet.
Update 8/15 Morning - Cody seemed to be doing better last night and this morning. He was a little more up-beat...but still had trouble keeping his eyes open. He still won't eat or drink anything. I had to force down his antibiotics, which he didn't like.
Good news though...his coughing and difficulty breathing seem to be improving dramatically! I dropped him off at the vet. I'll probably visit him early afternoon to check on him. We'll hope he's more recovered when I pick him up later this evening.
Update 8/15 Afternoon - I visited Cody this afternoon around 3pm at the vet, and he seems to be doing much better! He was excited to see me, as I saw him shaking. He even yelped a few times, telling me that he wanted me to take him for a walk. He was really sad when we had to put him back into the crate and hook up the IV. He wasn't coughing at all, and his breathing seemed better. And, the vet said that he ate on his own this morning.
After exchanging some emails with another friend, I found out that another couple picked up a dog at the Humane Society 2 weeks ago, and he's just now getting over pneumonia. I think this is GOOD news, because it helps rule out distemper.
Update 8/16 - Cody is home today...he did so good at the vet yesterday that they said he didn't have to go back today. He had a great night...he ate all his food, and this morning he seems to be very playful again. He already ate, and he's wimpering (like he used to) when we don't play with him. Here's a picture of him from last night:
Update 8/17 - It's Thursday afternoon, and Cody seems to have fully recovered. He eats like a champ...I put his food out and he scarfs it all down. We'll keep monitoring him, and we are taking him back to the vet on Monday for a re-checkup, but we think he's going to live a long and full life!
November, 2006 - Cody is doing great. He's almost 30 pounds. Here's a recent picture of Cody dressed in his Florida Gators jersey for Halloween:
