12 easy miles in Wissahickon Park today. I really wanted to keep things at an easy pace so I set a target of 7:30s or better and if any miles were under 7:30 I would force myself to do a mile at 8:30 pace. This is a little different than my normal easy pace philosophy of run at what feels like an easy pace and if the miles are coming faster than you think they should, just go with the flow.

It worked. I was checking my watch as if it were a tempo run, making sure the miles were relaxed enough. In fact, it worked so well that I was soon running 8:10's without thinking about it to much. I made my way out to the to of the park and turned around. I ran into Heather at Valley Green and joined her for the remainder of the way. We stopped about 1 mile short of the end and went onto the trails to hike the last portion. 12.2 miles in 1hour 40min.

40.8 miles for the week. A week that started off horribly and ended very well. At least as far as running is concerned.

In topics other than running things weren't so hot.

Heather and I decided to get a dog several weeks back and diligent planner that she is, Heather had been scouring the web looking for puppies that fit the bill. Medium sized mutt, good disposition, liked to run and hopefully wouldn't drive us nuts with energy. Of course you can't tell all of these things in a puppy and the dog was bound to drive me nuts regardless but she found what looked to be a good set of puppies.

It was a rescue in Mechanicsburg PA, which is directly outside of Harrisburg. We drove out on a beautiful Thursday afternoon, looked over the many puppies they had and settled on a lab/collie mix that was 8 weeks old. She was a cute little thing with a very fluffy sable coat and white paws. She seemed calm and sweet, licking our faces and just generally had a good demeanor.

We filled out some forms, paid the adoption fee and we were heading back home with the puppy on Heather's lap. She was well behaved the entire way although she looked a little ill. Dogs tend to look ill when they ride 110 miles in a car, they just don't take well to driving sometimes.

We finally got home after stops at a couple stores to pick up items for the dog. Got in the door set up shop with a crate, food, toys, a little bed and of course played with the puppy. After a lot of debate, mostly on her part because it was more her dog than mine, we settled on the name Haley.

We got her out in my backyard and Haley promptly vomited. We chalked it up to the car ride and nerves, she seemed fine in every other way. Running around the yard, in and out of the house. She however wouldn't eat a thing, even treats, and seemed to be a little lethargic. Not really having a feel for the dogs personality we didn't think to much of it and just decided to keep an eye on her.

That night passed without incident, she was sick one more time and had diarrhea but she still was a happy little puppy. In the morning we were both a little concerned but we didn't want to be rash and take the dog to the vet just than, so I went to work. Heather was home with Haley and she continued to get sick and have loose stool. She made the call to go to a vet.

The vet gave her some fluids under the skin, looked her over and not much else. Said to keep an eye on her and if she continued to vomit, bring her back the next day. That night things got worse. The dog was starting to get slightly bloody stool and was still throwing up. She was getting less peppy and it was obvious that this was more than just passing distress.

We rolled back to the Vet on Saturday morning, with stool samples in tow. Up until that morning I hadn't been to worried but the dog now looked very sick. I didn't know it at the time because I had gone out in the morning for a run but she also had horribly bloody stool. Heather had quickly gotten attached to the dog, you couldn't really help it she was just so cute, and was getting very upset.

The vet took one look at the stool sample and sent us directly to the Hickory Run Animal Hospital out by the Plymouth Meeting Mall. The vet seemed to think that Parvo virus might be the cause. Parvo attacks puppies before they can be fully vaccinated and just rips up their intestines, and bone marrow.

Heather had already been suspicious of this and had been reading about it online that morning. If an infected dog can get cared for by an animal hospital it has about an 80% chance of living. Decent odds but I was still hoping that Parvo wasn't the case.

We got to the hospital and they quickly got her into an examining room. They took a look at the stool and did a test for Parvo. The dog came up strongly positive for the virus. Suddenly a puppy that had been just fine when we got her on Thursday afternoon was now being placed in hospital care on Saturday morning. The vet at the hospital gave her a 50% chance but I didn't feel to assured by her body language and tone of voice.

We headed home and went about our day just hoping that things would turn out ok. I got a call at 6:00pm. The dogs heart had stopped and they had done CPR. The dog was now intubated and they had given it a shot of epinephrine and atropine. Who even knew they could do these things for dogs. The vet said there was still a chance and she wanted to wait and see what happened.

Sunday morning I called and things had not gotten any better. The next step was an infusion but it would take a miracle and the dog was really suffering. We decided to end it then and have the dog cremated. I couldn't believe it. Just really bad luck for a sweet dog. We called the shelter to let them know and they told us that no other puppies had come down with the highly contagious virus. Strange.

I don't usually move to far from running topics on the blog but it has just been playing in my mind all day and it felt like I should write it out. I think we will get another pup soon but not for a few weeks.