A shunt was not found, and it was determined that she had a condition that could not be surgically fixed. The Nebraska Humane Society team, in an effort to spare the puppy suffering, decided to have her euthanized.
The day of the puppy’s ultrasound was my day off. I received medical updates and the final decision to have the puppy euthanized in a series of several emails, all of which came at once in the late afternoon.
I sat on the bed and bawled. My husband Russ came to check on me, and I yelled, “I take one day off, and puppies DIE!”
Suspecting this was not an accurate statement, Russ gently took my phone out of my hand and read the emails. He said, “Couldn’t we take her?” Still in complete despair mode, I said “She’s probably DEAD!” Of course she was not dead. Dr. Thomassen said she would not euthanize the puppy unless she knew it was absolutely a decision agreed upon by everyone.
So we accidentally adopted a puppy!
The other doctors thought I was crazy to adopt a broken puppy, but I think they understood. We are vets. It is what we do.
I talked with my daughters. Adopting a puppy with an unspecified liver disorder is one of the best ways that I can imagine to ensure heartbreak. I told them we were adopting a puppy we knew was sick and that her lifespan may be shorter than other dogs. There was no doubt in their minds that this puppy was meant to be a Finch.
On the way home with the puppy in my lap, I said to Russ, “She’s blond. She’s really sweet. She’s pretty spacy.” (To her credit, she was still recovering from a very severe liver issue, and has since proved much sharper.) When we got home, I said to our daughters, “Let’s name her Luna Lovegood.” They cheered, and we had our name.
Our next step was a simple liver test. AND…the blood work came back completely normal!! And now I get to ponder what in the world happened.
- Knowing Luna now, it is probable that she ingested something she should not have, causing her extreme illness and liver issues.
- Knowing the very first place she lived had so many dogs, it is probable she ingested some urine at some point in her young life.
