[Einstein's Dad!]

Hi guys, just thought I'd share this quick post about our dog prior to Einstein. Her name was Wanda -a female Jack Russell terrier.

She was with us for over 4 years and and became a staple of every conversation in our house. She was a lively, happy, funny and totally devoted dog. She had this habit of howling along with you if you started to sing a song that sounded like a howl! And boy could she jump -like a gazelle she was.

We lost her 2 Christmases ago to Leptospirosis -i know. you're probably thinking how can that happen!??! Well, we had a flood back then and water rose up to our knees before it receded. And apparently Wanda had gotten in contact with water infected with rat urine.

Watching her slowly deteriorate over the course of 2 months was one of the hardest Christmases we ever had; because there was nothing we could do but try to keep her comfortable. We buried her in our garden, in a hand-made wooden box along with some pictures and a letter.

Merry Christmas Wanda. We miss you so.

[Lara's mom]

I have a friend who is dealing with the same thing with her jack russell poodle cross. I've never seen such a sick little dog. It's heartbreaking. We live in downtown Toronto where you'd think dogs would be safe from leptospirosis. Apparently not. Anywhere that there is wildlife; raccoons, skunks, rats, etc. dogs can become infected.

There are many dog owners in my building, most of whom did not vaccinate their dogs against this disease, including me. Since the diagnosis was confirmed, there has been a mad rush to vaccinate unprotected dogs. I only wish I'd done it in the first place instead of waiting for an outbreak to occur. I'm terrified every time I take my girls out because they've only had the first shot and need a booster in 3 weeks. They haven't been to the park since the diagnosis was even suspected. Instead of using common sense, I read a bunch of crap on the net and based my decision on that. Now, I could kick myself!!!

[Lara's mom]

The little dog I was telling you about who had leptospirosis died this afternoon.