“Crimson” was a four-month-old shepherd cross who came to us on a Thursday from the Lac La Biche area. He was found abandoned, along with his sister Cali and his brother Cleave.On the day they came to us, we fed them and they ate like they had never eaten before. They were playful and energetic. On Friday morning we noticed that Crimson was not hungry, which was unusual for a starving puppy, so we watched him carefully. On Saturday morning, Crimson still had no appetite and we became very concerned. We immediately took him to the veterinarian. Hours later Crimson started to go into seizures. It was discovered that Crimson had Distemper and had to be put down to end his suffering.
We were very sad and disturbed that Crimson was so tragically taken. We are comforted only by the fact that he had someone to care for him during his last days and that he didn’t have to suffer in the lonely ditch where he was found.
Distemper is a horrible disease, especially for puppies, and is almost always fatal. There is no treatment or cure. The true tragedy of this story is that this all could have been avoided if someone had only cared enough to have these puppies vaccinated. By the time Crimson was brought into our care, it was already too late. We are currently watching Cali and Cleave and we can only hope and pray that the disease did not spread.
Crimson is gone, but not forgotten.
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