my shihtzu puppy passed 24 hours after his first vaccine, feeling lost and confused
hi all. my smart and playful boy passed this morning, 24 hours after his first shot for live canine distemper, adenovirus and parvovirus. he was 6 weeks old.
my heart is completely heartbroken, and i am really confused about what happened. he was very happy before the vaccine, playing as he usually did and eating his food regularly. even the first day after his shot he was very happy, regular appetite and pooped normally. in the night, he kept trying to join me in bed and wasn’t happy in his own, so i let him join me and he seemed content.
this morning, his health just declined rapidly. we took him to the vet as soon as we noticed something was off (he didn’t eat his first meal in the morning at all) and the vet says sometimes puppies need to rest and it isn’t anything to be concerned about. he said they can have side effects to vaccines but they tend to be short lived.
we took him home and gently tried to offer some food to him (he usually licks the bowl clean!) but he wouldn’t have it. then came the diarrhoea. we took him back to the vet, but he said nothing could feasibly be done, and he passed in my arms shortly after.
what could have happened? we followed the timeline for his vaccinations, found what we thought was a reputable vet, and yet everything happened so quickly. he was here yesterday and gone now.
not sure what i’m looking for, but any insight would be appreciated.
thanks all 🩷
edit: thank you from the bottom of my heart to everyone who has offered their experiences and/or kind words. it is strangely comforting to hear from other people with shih tzus, even if they are strangers. i appreciate the compassion and empathy in these comments.
i have added a picture of my boy in the comments, as i want him to live on in this thread!