For those that have followed the story of Lil' Squirt and his brother Boss Hog, we thank you for giving them the chance to steal your hearts. Today we are devastated as we mourn the death of the littlest puppy in Sophia's litter of two. Squirt was a fighter and came a long, long way in the 2 weeks and 4 days he shared with us. He passed on Jan. 15th, 2009. Born on December 28th, 2009 at 8:20 am, we knew from day one that he was special. He was a teeny little bully pup that was born with an obvious problem -- a hernia. Although not terribly uncommon in the breed, the hernia was quite large for his petite frame and caused us concern. In addition, his coloring was slightly ashen blue for the first several hours after birth indicating the potential for other problems. As the first week passed by, we were hopeful that the hernia was not going to pose a problem and could be corrected in future surgery. There were no other obvious signs of discoloration or blueness and he "pinked" right up. He struggled with a bout of constipation, but nothing we were alarmed about.

On his two week vet visit, we learned that Squirt also had a significant heart murmur. We knew not to be surprised by this as pups born with one defect will often have others. But heart murmurs come and go and especially at a young age, it is difficult to tell if a murmur will correct itself over time. 

He thrived in his second week and learned to stand up on all fours and even walk a few steps.  Even though Boss was much bigger, Squirt was wilier and knew how to navigate his way around the whelping pen to find a nipple to nurse.  He wasn't as vigorous an eater as his bigger brother, but he continued to put on steady weight which had us hopeful.

The days went by and we enjoyed his company and his antics.  He learned to flip over onto his back and would sleep with his paws stretched to the sky.  His eyes opened and he quickly learned to move around the terrain of his bedding.  He squawked and squealed and often peed on his helpers.  He was so much fun to be around.

On Thursday, January 15th, Squirt wasn't nursing at all. We tried every which way we could, but he just wasn’t interested. He simply wanted to sleep next to Sophia. The way he snuggled up under her arm was so special. When his foster momma arrived home later in the day, she noticed a slight blue-ish tinge to his face, his paws and his gums. Alarmed, she called the vet and was told to take him to the emergency clinic straight away.

Things went downhill from there. Poor Lil’ Squirt’s heart had failed him. His 2 weeks of fun and frolicking had worn out a badly malformed heart. His heart wasn’t able to keep pace any longer and his lungs and his abdomen were filling with fluid making it hard for him to breathe and turning his tissues blue. The hernia, which seemed to have been healing, had also turned a bruised, purple-blue color and was causing him to go into septic shock. The outlook was grave and Squirt was suffering. At such a tender age, there was no treatment that could have solved the problem, or prolonged his life. As hard as it was for the people of CEBR to make the decision, they decided that Squirt didn’t need to live in pain. He spent his last hours in the loving arms of his foster mom.  He was in no pain when he passed.

Sophia misses her baby and Boss Hog misses his brother. Please consider a donation to honor Squirt’s memory. The funds will be used to offset the cost of care for Sophia and her babies. Your online donation is safe and secure.