We adopted a dog from the pound. He was very ill for about a month. We first took him in because he would cough at night. The doctor said it was kennel cough. He got worse once we finished his medicine for that. He had snot coming out of his nose and his eyes. He wouldn't eat or drink. A different doctor said it was distemper and wanted to put him down. He already had his shots so we weren't sure if it really was. The doctor did say there was a chance that he could get better. Our dog had symptoms of distemper, but I couldn't bear to put him down. I was feeding him through a syringe for about a week. It was a very difficult time for me. We ultimately took him to the pound to have him put down, but we requested that they do everything for him that they could before they put him down. They gave him a nebulizer treatment, and gave him IV penicillin. That night he was a happy puppy. He was eating and drinking. As it turns out, the kennel cough gave him pneumonia. I do not fault the doctor for thinking it was distemper, but I don't think he considered the fact that it might have been something else, and he didn't urge us to try everything else. Our puppy is a year old, and is perfectly healthy. We still go there for their preventive care, and the staff is friendly.
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