An 8 week-old pup from a line breeding around Jenkins’ Jock is showing signs of strong eye.

This little fellow is recovering from a case of bacterial pneumonia that killed a littermate and almost killed him. Puppies with developing immune systems are vulnerable creatures, and it can be hard to spot these things early (enough). The lucky (and almost unlucky) pup in the photo is on 3 antibiotics, fluids and 24-hour monitoring. In 2 days time, he has moved from critical to stable to improving.

The veterinarian wrote:

“The way these infections almost always work is that a virus comes through and damages the protections in the nasopharynx, allowing bacteria to enter the lung and prosper, leading to your very sick puppy.  In good conditions that have low stress and plenty of air, many animals fight off the viral infection, maintain their defenses and do not get bacterial pneumonia.

Viruses to the many, bacteria to the unlucky few.”

The sadness at losing a beautiful pup is tempered by the joy of one who will recover and lead a rich, full life.