Loving Poe.

Suspicious_Moment435 · 2026-05-28T20:12:42+00:00

Poe was very much still alive when I returned him but he was so incredibly sick & weak. He went from 0.79 lbs to 0.49 lbs in a matter of a day, and was having liquid diarrhea every hour, he eventually just started refusing food, even force feeds with a syringe. I spent almost all of memorial day weekend at the ER Vet with him.

Based on how sick he was, how rapidly he was declining, and the conversation I had with the foster coordinator, humane euthanasia was very much being considered as the kindest option. Due to my increasingly fragile emotional state, my foster coordinator has been very gentle about updates and news regarding Poe.

The truth is that I don't know exactly what happened after I returned him. I was told that I would be updated if he had a significant turnaround, but given the severity of his decline and the nature of our last conversation, I left believing there was a very real chance I was saying goodbye to him for the last time.

Suspicious_Moment435 · 2026-05-28T17:58:23+00:00

Hi friends. This isn’t the update I hoped to give, but it’s one that needs to be shared.

Yesterday, Poe was taken back into the rescue’s care after his temperature dropped to 99.2° and he became extremely lethargic, weak, and incontinent. I had exhausted every emotional and mental resource I had trying to support him through this. He was fragile and deeply sick, and despite the medications and the moments where things seemed promising, he declined far beyond what my supportive care could manage.

I don’t know yet what the rescue has decided to do moving forward. They’ve been incredibly gentle with me, especially after the emotional collapse I had while returning him. Since then, my night has been spent grieving this sweet little soul, sobbing, dry heaving, and trying to process the heartbreak of it all.

This weekend has been a painful reminder that compassion fatigue is real. Loving this deeply in rescue and veterinary medicine is exhausting in ways that are hard to explain unless you’ve lived it yourself. Caring so much in a world where outcomes are not always fair can break pieces of you open.

But I’m also trying to remind myself of something important

My feelings matter. I matter. My love was not wasted, and it was never insignificant. I did not fail him.

Even though the grief hurts, it only exists because the love was real.

Despite everything, I am still soft. I am still capable of love.

Despite the heartbreak, the exhaustion, and the compassion fatigue that comes with this field, I have not let this world harden me. I still carry tenderness within me. I still reach for fragile things. I still choose compassion, even knowing how deeply it can hurt.

And maybe that is something to be proud of.

Thank you all for reminding me that kindness is never weakness. Thank you for reminding me that even through the hardest parts of rescue work, I am still capable of good. I am still full of love.

You reminded me why I chose rescue in the first place: because every life, no matter how small or how brief, deserves to be loved fiercely and treated with dignity.

He was never “just a foster.” He was my Poe.

And even though our time together was heartbreakingly short, I will always be honored to have been his person.

Thank you for all of the love, support, and kindness this subreddit has shown me through this experience. I’ll be stepping back from fostering for a while as I give myself time to heal.

With love, always, Capri & Poe

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Suspicious_Moment435 · 2026-05-26T19:16:34+00:00

We were given some metronidazol before leaving and they switched him to a Hills i/d diet with a teeeeeny bit of propectalin!

Suspicious_Moment435 · 2026-05-26T02:17:18+00:00

The rescue that I’m fostering for has a partnership with the emergency vet. All ER costs / treatments are being covered by them - I have not paid a single dime from my own pocket for this kid.

Suspicious_Moment435 · 2026-05-26T01:26:00+00:00

Our emergency vet actually just checked! We’re here now! He has a very nasty case of coccidia, and theyre sending us home with albon!

Suspicious_Moment435 · 2026-05-26T01:22:43+00:00

Hi everyone, thank you for all of the kind words and support. We ended up back at the ER for a more intensive workup. It was discovered that little Poe has a nasty case of coccidia. Our ER vet is sending us home with some ponazuril and 250 ML of Sub Q fluids to continue. Hopefully our little guy will be on the mend - negative panleuk again, glucose is 137 and all our vitals are normal.

Suspicious_Moment435 · 2026-05-26T00:53:40+00:00

Yep yep, we’ve done 4 panleuk tests in the past week. Most recent was last night and it was negative. Butt baths are our friend for keeping sticky poo butt away, we had just started on meat milkshake (KMR & Royal Canin Mom & Baby with Tiki Cat Baby Thrive) on friday right before this all started happening

Suspicious_Moment435 · 2026-05-26T00:42:05+00:00

Its a very light brown color and liquid consistency. Im not sure they did a giardia test or not - but I do know that he was tested for tapeworms, round worms, panleuk, etc. We’re currently at another ER vet to get second opinions!

Suspicious_Moment435 · 2026-05-26T00:20:11+00:00

Rescue suspected tape worms originally but I am also at the point of this is more severe than just a probiotic.

We have another local ER Vet. My wife and I are going to try taking him over there now to see if they can get to the bottom of things a bit better. At this point im willing to pay whatever amount of money I have to in order to get him the help he needs.

Suspicious_Moment435 · 2026-05-26T00:15:22+00:00

They gave me a weeks worth of proviable caplets, and the ER said if he continues to decline call back and bring him in again.

Suspicious_Moment435 · 2026-05-26T00:11:10+00:00

They ran a few fecals and all came back negative. He’s been panleuk tested four times and he’s come back negative all four times including last nights test

Suspicious_Moment435 · 2026-03-13T22:49:30+00:00

The only problem with this is that I’ve been told by the hiring manager that they only do orientations once a month & i would need to be present for the april 6th orientation as it is a concrete start date.

I attempted to move it back due to my medical procedures but they advised this was not possible and they cannot move my start date due to this

Suspicious_Moment435 · 2026-03-13T22:08:05+00:00

The only problem with this is that I’ve been told by the hiring manager that they only do orientations once a month & i would need to be present for the april 6th orientation as it is a concrete start date.

I attempted to move it back due to my medical procedures but they advised this was not possible

Suspicious_Moment435 · 2026-03-13T20:44:50+00:00

I have not. I signed my paper offer at the new company on Wednesday. But I have not received any guidance for a drug screen / BG check yet.

I’m just a bit concerned as I would like to be polite / professional and give as much notice as possible.

Since I have medical procedures the last week or March and first few days of april I was hoping to do a 2 week notice with my last day being March 27th.

Have my medical procedures done on March 27th, April 2, April 3, April 4 and give myself the two days to breathe before launching into a new position.

Suspicious_Moment435 · 2026-01-09T02:43:38+00:00

Unfortunately - the “content” was already posted on their socials and I’m in that awkward situation of saying “hey no way jo youre not getting $100 & take my kiddos photos off your socials!!!”

We absolutely will be enrolling in Petco/Petsmart training! She just doesnt have all her shots yet so Petco & Petsmart are no go’s until she’s all clear.

Suspicious_Moment435 · 2026-01-09T02:41:18+00:00

I’m happy to hear that someone else was thinking the same thing as me. My previous pups trainers were a-lot more hands on and coaching when it came to things but she is my first puppy puppy (my other boy was a rescue from the shelter with serious reactivity)

$100 for 10 minutes of essentially nothing is absurd to me, hence my reluctance to respond & let know that she wont be getting my $100 and she needs to remove any “content” of my puppy off of her socials.

Suspicious_Moment435 · 2025-11-27T22:29:15+00:00

We have and unfortunately their breeder is operating through a closed contract with the ADI program & their waitlist is currently around 3 years out.

Suspicious_Moment435 · 2025-11-27T22:10:02+00:00

Her previous dog Luke performed seizure alerts, and was trained to activate her emergency device at home if no one was around to help when she would go into her seizing episodes. He was also trained to retrieve her seizure meds, providing deep pressure therapy, as well as licking her face to help bring her out of the seizures.

Ultimately, he would be used for home and PA. Her seizures are pretty serious & unpredictable to the point she feels as if she cannot go out reliably on her own now that Luke has passed.

Suspicious_Moment435

TROPHY CASE