Puppy Love

Ever since me and family had moved to our town, we've always had a dog. And today, we own six dogs and four cats in our household. So, if we buy a sack of rice, the dogs and cats are always part of the budget.

Whenever people ask me if I'm a dog lover, my answer is YES but only to the dogs we own. I love our dogs, I always had. It's just that some people don't believe me because I seldom pet our dogs. I may pet them but only occasionally. And whenever one of them dies due to sickness, I'm the only one in our family who cries. 

But my attitude towards our dogs changed when Cooper arrived in our home. Cooper was brought by my Aunt last month while he was still a week old. I was glad that we had a new puppy, but I didn't act as excited like the rest of my family, who were so busy playing with the pup. At first, I wouldn't hold him or pet him. I may only call his name to get his attention, but that was it.

Until two weeks later, I found myself slowly adoring this little pup. I started petting him, giving him food, until I eventually carried him more frequently in my arms. Slowly by slowly, I started feeling attached to our new pup. That's when my family started saying:

Cindy's favorite dog is only Cooper.

The only pet you've ever pet and cared for is Cooper.

Wow Cindy, it's a miracle to see you cuddle and hold Cooper.

So yeah, I love all our dogs, but my first ever favorite dog was Cooper. Because of that, I found it harder to get out of the house, knowing Cooper would be left behind. I would even let him inside the living room and even my bedroom. There was even one time wherein I was so looking forward to going home because of him.

All was good and well, until one morning, Cooper was not feeling well. He didn't eat breakfast, and he couldn't even stand or hold his head high. This sickness happened so suddenly. I felt anxious because out of all the dogs to get sick, why did it had to be him? Although, I'm not saying that I'd rather see the other dogs get sick, okay? We called him, pet him, and tried to make him stand, but he didn't. He couldn't carry the weight of his own body. Then my dad said, "Maybe Cooper is gonna die." 

It was that statement that gave me an idea to take him to the vet. I felt hopeless and desperate because I didn't want to lose Cooper. I cried in my room for a bit, gathered my shit together, changed my clothes, and said, 'We're going to the vet right now." My dad was skeptical for a moment because he knew how costly going to a vet would be. I knew that as well, but I didn't care, not even a little bit. The only thing on my mind was, 'Cooper has to live for a long time'. 

Cooper couldn't stand and move, but his eyes were still open. I wrapped him in my old T-shirt and got my sister to drive us to the vet. Cooper started closing his eyes during the trip to the vet, and I shook him to keep him awake. Just when we arrived in front of the clinic, Cooper had a seizure, his body went stiff, his mouth was wide open, and he was vomiting loads of white saliva. It all happened while Cooper was still in my arms. 

For me, it looked like Cooper was about to die, and he was on his last breath. I cried so hard like a kid, and my sister and the vets on the clinic are all witnesses of that. I feel like the last time I cried that hard was when my grandfather died. I literally cried like a four-year-old kid being left in kindergarten. I couldn't even move from my spot. I was just there crying while looking at Cooper dying in my arms. Thankfully, the nurse approached me and swiftly took Cooper from my hands. 

For the vet, it was an emergency. But for me, all I could think was, 'Did I just lost my favorite dog? Did he just died in my arms?'

So, while Cooper was in the emergency room, the other nurse escorted us to the waiting area. I was restless, I couldn't wait, and I felt like I was waiting for them to tell me, 'I'm sorry about your dog, but we couldn't revive him.' I can hear them inside the emergency room saying things like 'Get this, get that, hold this, hold that'. They were all busy trying to recover my dying dog.

Moments later, the doctor called me to come inside the emergency room. There, I saw Cooper being confined in dextrose and an oxygen tank. Cooper was alive, but he was asleep. Then the vet told me,

'Your dog is still alive, but he's in a critical state. His chance of living is still 50/50, and we had to use an oxygen tank for him because he wasn't breathing anymore and his lungs were constricted. Can you tell us anything that happened to your dog beforehand?'

I told them about the toad incident wherein Cooper was playing with a poisonous toad, but that happened two nights ago. That's when the vet said,

'In that case, maybe your dog has eaten something toxic or poisonous last night or this morning, and no one saw it. It was a good decision that you brought him as soon as possible here in the clinic. Otherwise, your dog would have already been dead by now. So far, he's in a critical state, and we'll tell you more when he wakes up.'

So, me and my sister went back into the waiting area. Not a long moment went by when the doctor called me again to inform me that Cooper is finally awake. I was so happy to see him moving on his own again, and the doctor also cheered because he was alive. The doctor suggested that I have my dog confined for a day to perform Fluids Therapy. It's the process of detoxifying his body to ensure all toxic and poison are eliminated.

I immediately agreed to keep Cooper confined for a day because I knew it was for his own good. They also told me about the initial price, and it was few thousands of money, but I didn't care. My only priority is to ensure Cooper lives healthily again. 

When Cooper was finally back in his active state, they had to put him in a cage, and he'd be staying there for a night. After an hour of hanging out with him, we had to say goodbye and come back again tomorrow to pick him up. When me and my sissy got home, my family was surprised by how much I cared for Cooper's life. I was surprised by myself too because I didn't know I could care and worry this much for our dog. 

Fast forward to the next day; we went back to the vet to pick up Cooper from his overnight hospitalization. When he saw me arrived, he was jumping inside his cage due to excitement. So, I pet him, picked him up, settled our bill, and bought a dog vitamins bottle for him. Everyone in the house got so excited when I got home with Cooper in my arms. I was so excited too, and I'm so happy with my decision of taking him to the vet. 

It was this experience that made me appreciate the vets so much. If not for them, Cooper would have been dead by now. And my family also says that if it weren't for me, no one would even dare take him to the vet and call for help. Now, I'm keeping Cooper here on our porch and not letting him outside unless he's with me. I'm doing this as I want to ensure that he never eats or drinks anything poisonous again. I love my family, our dogs, cats, and of course, my Cooper. 

And by the way, Cooper's sleeping here beside me while I'm typing this article. For anyone wondering, Cooper is half an Aspin and half a Belgian Shepherd. 

An additional note, apologies for not updating my blog. My real life got so busy, I barely had any time to write for my own blog. You can bet that I'm busy with my work, or I'm busy playing with Cooper, hahaha!

Ciao!