Xiao Hua (Little Flower) was sick. 

         She hid in her carrier, her little body shivering due to a fever, and refused to come out.  Laying on her side, her eyes pathetically gazing at me, she quietly endured her illness.   Not even a piece of her favorite hard candy would entice her to eat.

            For me, it seemed an endless night until the morning arrived, when Dr. Qiu’s Greatest Love Animal Hospital opened across town.  Dr. Qiu (chew), or Dr. Q as I sometimes call him, has been taking care of Little Flower for 6 years.  He  treated her for a serious case of puppy influenza (caught from the pet shop I saved her from), gave her her first vaccinations, spayed her and helped to diagnose her immune system disorder, for which she takes prednisone when it flares up every so often. 

            One of the greatest problems with Little Flower has been vaccinations.  After her immune system disorder, her body has little tolerance for vaccinations.  They can send her on intravenous drips for several days to get her temperature down, then a month or two of medications, before she’ll return to normal.  All vaccinations, even the rabies vaccine which is not a living vaccine, has had similar effects on her.  So after her 3rd vaccination set was given, to which she had a strong reaction, we decided to forgo vaccinations for awhile but check every year to make sure she had the anti-bodies she needed to fight off disease.

            For 2 years, her anti-bodies were strong enough, but this year, I was remiss in having her checked sooner.

            Sure enough, that proved to be my downfall because after testing this morning, Little Flower was diagnosed with canine parvovirus.  While this can be fatal, in LF’s case, I had been quick enough to get her to the vet’s.  She will now be on intravenous drips for 5-7 days, 6 hours a day, along with several other dogs who also suffer from the same illness.  The next few days are crucial in determining how well she will recover, so keep visiting my site for daily updates.

             LF will be dropped off for treatment before my classes in the morning, around 8:00 a.m., and be picked up in the late afternoon, around 5 p.m.  The virus is highly contagious to unprotected dogs so I will carefully monitor her when she goes outside.  No more romping with her male playmates for awhile, not that she wants to as she feels so bad.  

            A visit to the vet’s is always an experience in China because it’s so very different from that in the States.  Please watch this space for tomorrow’s full report of “A Visit to Dr. Q’s Clinic”, along with pictures and a special interview with Dr. Q himself. 

            Thank you for checking in and thinking of us! 

            Until tomorrow, "Ping An!"  (Peace)