Well I've got some very sad news :(. On Friday last week I noticed Jax had snot hanging out of 
both nostrils, but it was clear, so I figured when we got home this week I'd bring her in to the vet as she probably had a cold. On Sunday this week, I was playing with her after church and noticed she hadn't eaten about half of the food in her bowl and as you know that is not like Jax AT ALL! She DEVOURS her food as soon as she gets it, so I actually got excited thinking maybe she was growing out of that trend and starting to eat her food little by little. On Monday, Mr. Larry mentioned that she hadn't eaten all of her food again, so when Tim and I got back to the house around 11 pm, we went to check on her and she was curled up on the ground outside of her doghouse (and it was really cold outside). She wouldn't respond to me at all or even look at me, which is also very unlike her. She's always super excited to see me and hyper. She was shaking and when I got a flashlight to see her face, she had green mucus all over her snout and her pupils were completely dilated.
I noticed her breathing was short and labored. So at that point I was already crying and very concerned. We couldn't make her stand up or move, we finally got her to stand up and brought her to the side of the house and set up a smaller dog house (so she'd be warmer) and be blocked from the wind. We filled it with towels and blankets and got a heater set up to blow on door of the doghouse. I called a friend of mine in vet school and she said to give her 2 benadryl, so I literally pried her mouth open (her jaw was clenched shut) and forced it down. My friend said it sounded exactly like distemper or pneumonia and she's had vaccinations for distemper, so that's likely not what it was. There was no way to tie Jax up to the house and we assumed since she wasn't moving by the doghouse that she wouldn't move from the new spot with the heater-so we didn't tie her up. There
is no 24 hour vet around here, so we were going to take her in first thing in the morning. I couldn't sleep at all that night and I went to the back door many times to make sure the heater was still on, but I never went outside to see if she was still in the house (you couldn't see the front of it from the window). In the morning she was gone and my family and Tim's family looked for her for 5 hours in the woods all around the house, but we never found her. We've looked for her several times since and I just keep envisioning her running up to the house. So we've been pretty devastated about not knowing where she is. I think it's safe to assume she's passed away or else she wouldn't have gone into the woods, but it's the worst not knowing exactly. I HATE the thought of her suffering and it just breaks my heart. It was just shocking that she got sick so quickly, especially since the other two dogs are short haired and stay outside and are fine. They all have lots of hay in their houses too. I guess her cold just got into her lungs and that was it. I wish so badly that I would have brought her inside, but the offer wasn't made and we just knew she'd make it through the night with the heater and benadryl. She was so sweet and had a huge desire to be obedient. She always came when I called her and when she got out of the backyard twice, she was always sitting on the front 
porch when we got home :). She was a great running partner too. On her last night, I wanted to test her mental capacity so I told her to sit and she did right away with one request :) . She was a great dog and she came a long way from when I first got her at the pound. Tim had just finished building her $150 Christmas present- a luxury dog house that she would completely stretch out in! We filled it with cedar chips and put a heat lamp in it. So I'm glad she was happy and taken care of for most of her life. Anyway, it's hard to lose two pets in one year, but I'm glad she was in our lives and glad yall got to know her. Jax is loved!
both nostrils, but it was clear, so I figured when we got home this week I'd bring her in to the vet as she probably had a cold. On Sunday this week, I was playing with her after church and noticed she hadn't eaten about half of the food in her bowl and as you know that is not like Jax AT ALL! She DEVOURS her food as soon as she gets it, so I actually got excited thinking maybe she was growing out of that trend and starting to eat her food little by little. On Monday, Mr. Larry mentioned that she hadn't eaten all of her food again, so when Tim and I got back to the house around 11 pm, we went to check on her and she was curled up on the ground outside of her doghouse (and it was really cold outside). She wouldn't respond to me at all or even look at me, which is also very unlike her. She's always super excited to see me and hyper. She was shaking and when I got a flashlight to see her face, she had green mucus all over her snout and her pupils were completely dilated.
I noticed her breathing was short and labored. So at that point I was already crying and very concerned. We couldn't make her stand up or move, we finally got her to stand up and brought her to the side of the house and set up a smaller dog house (so she'd be warmer) and be blocked from the wind. We filled it with towels and blankets and got a heater set up to blow on door of the doghouse. I called a friend of mine in vet school and she said to give her 2 benadryl, so I literally pried her mouth open (her jaw was clenched shut) and forced it down. My friend said it sounded exactly like distemper or pneumonia and she's had vaccinations for distemper, so that's likely not what it was. There was no way to tie Jax up to the house and we assumed since she wasn't moving by the doghouse that she wouldn't move from the new spot with the heater-so we didn't tie her up. There
is no 24 hour vet around here, so we were going to take her in first thing in the morning. I couldn't sleep at all that night and I went to the back door many times to make sure the heater was still on, but I never went outside to see if she was still in the house (you couldn't see the front of it from the window). In the morning she was gone and my family and Tim's family looked for her for 5 hours in the woods all around the house, but we never found her. We've looked for her several times since and I just keep envisioning her running up to the house. So we've been pretty devastated about not knowing where she is. I think it's safe to assume she's passed away or else she wouldn't have gone into the woods, but it's the worst not knowing exactly. I HATE the thought of her suffering and it just breaks my heart. It was just shocking that she got sick so quickly, especially since the other two dogs are short haired and stay outside and are fine. They all have lots of hay in their houses too. I guess her cold just got into her lungs and that was it. I wish so badly that I would have brought her inside, but the offer wasn't made and we just knew she'd make it through the night with the heater and benadryl. She was so sweet and had a huge desire to be obedient. She always came when I called her and when she got out of the backyard twice, she was always sitting on the front 
porch when we got home :). She was a great running partner too. On her last night, I wanted to test her mental capacity so I told her to sit and she did right away with one request :) . She was a great dog and she came a long way from when I first got her at the pound. Tim had just finished building her $150 Christmas present- a luxury dog house that she would completely stretch out in! We filled it with cedar chips and put a heat lamp in it. So I'm glad she was happy and taken care of for most of her life. Anyway, it's hard to lose two pets in one year, but I'm glad she was in our lives and glad yall got to know her. Jax is loved!
