Now: despite what everyone thinks about pit bulls, he is the sweetest dog I have ever met, he loves everyone.!! I have two tiny cats, and he wants nothing but to play with them. It really bothers me when people are so quick to judge pit bulls because of their terrible reputation.. but I am almost positive everyone has heard the famous quote. "guns don't kill people... people kill people " Well it is the same way.. those dogs are built strong, yes, but no dog is mean, unless they are trained to be mean.. so here is my quote: "Pit bulls don't kill people, owners kill people" Yeah I know it is not the best quote, but it is true! And it is frustrating when I tell people what kind of dog we have, and I can see it in their eyes, it's like I am living with an escaped convict or something, and they are way way way off.! - That's all.!!
When they brought Turk home, he was so little. How could you let someone kill this precious dog?
With Daddy (Brian) in his four wheeler.
With Mommy (Lolie)
Their lease was coming to an end and they tried to rent a house, but most people do not want three 20 year olds and a dog, especially a pit bull living in their house, so that plan just did not happen. Brian moved back home, James moved back home, and Lolie went to live at her old apartment. Turk went to live with Lolie's brother. We babysat him sometimes, and were always sad to see him go. A small mishap had happened at Lolie's brothers house (Turk kind of chewed on his wife's wedding ring .. oops.!!) So Turk came to live with us, and pretty much became Turk Shepard.
It really is Puppy Love.!
On February 3rd Turk started to act a little sluggish, which was very unlike him, because he is still a puppy, not even a year old yet. But we thought maybe he was just tired or something. But on February 4th he threw up, and we really started to get worried and with it being a Saturday we thought it would be really hard to get him in anywhere. When Brian got off work, he drove around everywhere, finally found a vet that was open, but the Dr. was really busy, and they didn't think it was anything too serious, but the receptionist could really tell that Brian was worried, so she gave him directions to Banfield Pet Hospital in Webster on Bay Area, and they were extremely helpful, and glad to see that we were so concerned.
Turk got a physical examination, and most everything was relatively Normal, except his change in appetite, vomiting, and diarrhea. They diagnosed him with Canine Parvo Virus Disease.
What is Canine Parvo Virus Disease? Well it: attacks the stomach and intestines, on occasion it can attack heart tissue causing sudden death. Young dogs, and un-vaccinated dogs are at the highest risks. The virus is shed in stool, feces, and in soil; the virus can remain in contaminated areas for months. It is only passed from dog to dog.
Symptoms of Parvo Virus: vomiting, diarrhea, depression, fever, abdominal pains, decreased appetite, decreased water intake, weakness, weight loss, bloody diarrhea, fatal dehydration, and blood loss, in other words, if a dog shows any of these symptoms they require immediate attention and treatment.
Treatments: de-wormers, intestinal medications, fluid and elecrtolyte therapy.
Turk: Turks appetite decreased 80 % within 2 days, he was vomiting and having diarrhea at least once every 12 hours. They did a blood cell count and his white blood cells were extremely low. He has been putting up a really good fight, we take him back to the hospital every morning at 7, and they run more tests to see if he is improving in anyway, they give him IV treatments filled with protein, vitamins, and energy. We take him to walk, and he can make it about six houses, which is improvement also. Last night he had his first drink of water, which had us all smiling.! Today, they told us to boil some chicken and see if he will eat that, and he ate four quarter size pieces of chicken which was amazing. I also talked to my friend Holly, and she said that their poor dog went through the same thing and survived it, and that they gave him sprite, and i tried that tonight also, and he actually drank some of it.! We have been praying everyday, and really need all the prayers that we can get. We need him to pull through this, because to us, Turk is Family.
Turk with his bandage from his I.V.
Sitting up finally.! Being such a strong boy.!
He looks so skinny.!! Me and my daddy stayed up with him till' 6:00 a.m. (feb. 6)
Brian, Lolie, Jesse, and I stayed up with him till 6:00 a.m (feb. 5)
On his left shoulder you can see his skin starting to sink in
he used to bulge out there. and on his right arm, that is
where they had the I.V. in him the first day.
February 7th- When Turk came home.. this was the happiest
and most hyper any of us had seen him in days.
This is my mom and Aunt Terry spending some time with him.
He ate 4 pieces of chicken like this.. and I know on a normal day for any dog, that is nothing...
but when we saw him eat that, there were almost tears all over the Shepard House
because he has not eaten in days. When we would try to give him dog
food, he would get nauseous and walk away. So we were ecstatic to see him eat that much.!
Special Thanks to: Brian Ray, Mom, Dad, Lolie, Jesse, Holly, Ashley, Lacey, Mam, Aunt Terry, Uncle John, Kyle, and everyone else who has been here to help, or just keeping Turk and our family in your prayers we greatly appreciate it, and still need them so that he can pull threw this thing, I believe in him and Thank you guys for believing in him also.!
More of Turk, Turkers (Lolie), Turkey Wurkey (Mom), and Turk Turk (Me) :
Turk and Jesse
Turk and daddy (Brian Ray)
Baby Turk :)
New Bone
Helpin Daddy do laundry
Me and Turk on Halloween.
I know it is a lot of pictures but we just love the hell out of this dog, and I just wanted everyone to know what he is going through and how much he needs all the prayers he can get, Thanks again.!
-The Shepard and Martha Family.!
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