The story of this tragic little puppy belongs in the Hall of Shame, folks. There is no excuse for what happened to him, and I am telling his story not only so we never forget this precious one, but also so people will learn from it.

I was called by a rescuer in West Virginia to help with some dogs who were running out of time at a hellhole of a shelter there. One, I was told, was even a "Cocker mix." Well, from the picture, I suppose you could think so. Once I met poor Freckles, though, I thought he was a Collie or Sheltie mix. The only Spaniel possibly in him was, perhaps, Brittany. It didn't matter. I took him, along with a few other needy souls from this woman who did all she could to get them to a vet once she'd taken them from the shelter. And then she drove a long way to meet me. As I did to meet her. 

She told me along the way via cell phone that Freckles had some loose stools, that he hadn't been feeling too well at the vet's. My heart sank immediately. But here is the real kicker. They'd neutered him anyway! They also vaccinated him! He was only a puppy, seriously underweight and malnourished, full of fleas, and he was lethargic. I could not believe my ears. 

By the time I got to Freckles, he was squatting and releasing milky fluid from his rectum. In a state of panic -- partly for him, and partly because I had other dogs on the ride -- I called one of my most loyal volunteers to help me get Freckles to an emergency clinic. She met me within an hour, and she rushed him where he needed to go. I took the others on a boarding kennel.

The news from the emergency vets was not encouraging. They said they didn't know what was wrong with him and gave him some antibiotics and fluids and . . . SENT HIM HOME! I couldn't believe it, but they would not keep him, even when he began to have bloody stools. Not knowing what else to do, not wanting to toss this sick puppy on the streets, our devoted volunteer took him to her house. 

The dangers were obvious to me. I feared Parvovirus and asked how could they do such a thing. She said they would not keep him at their facility, but they warned her it "could be Parvo." I told her I was worried for her other dogs and the ones I transported, in addition to poor Freckles. She agreed, but she said they had told her if her dogs were all current on vaccinations, there was nothing to fear. 

Uh huh.

In spite of getting his medication and lots of  TLC, by morning Freckles was losing blood at both ends, and he was rushed to one of our regular vets, where he was admitted under emergency status. Suffice it to say that heroic measures were taken on his behalf to save him, but to no avail. He died within 48 hours, almost certainly the victim of Parvo and horrible vetting. There was no sure way to tell because he had been vaccinated prior to transporting him, but we were reasonably certain, especially when one of the older dogs, owned by the volunteer who took Freckles in, came down with Parvo, too, in spite of being current on her vaccinations. No vaccine is 100% foolproof. Please don't ever let any vet tell you otherwise. 

Our volunteer nearly lost her beloved dog, but she managed to fight her way back to life. Freckles was too sick and too depleted of energy, and he had been through too much trauma and abuse to fight back. We lost this precious sweetheart before we ever really had him. I hate to add this, but the entire ordeal cost us thousands of dollars, too. Losing Freckles and vetting the other dog were setbacks that no one could afford, emotionally or financially. It was terrible all the way around.

I believe without question that the vets who should have cared for Freckles properly are responsible for his death and the subsequent near death experience of the other dog. It's far too sad, and it did not have to happen. It seems that terrible lessons are too often learned the hard way. I hope someone can help another dog after reading about our lost Freckles. He didn't have to die. 

If dogs are too thin or too sick, WAIT on the neutering and vaccinating. INSIST on it with your vet, if necessary. If they are showing symptoms of deadly diseases, especially contagious ones, DON'T let any vet tell you it's okay to take them home. DEMAND that they be allowed to stay and get round-the-clock emergency care. It's your right, and it's their necessity, if you want them to have a hope of surviving. And you don't want to spread the disease to other animals in the process. Vets should know better. It's inexcusable that no one did the right thing in this case. We are poorer for what happened, but we are wiser, and we will not let it happen again.

I truly wish little Freckles had the benefit of our experience. His life was over before it even began, and that is a tragedy beyond all else that happened.