GrayHaven Bostons - Darling Diva

GRAYHAVEN BOSTONS
Darling Diva

(Above) Diva & her daddy, Gambler

GrayHaven's Diva of CAJA - "Diva"
Sire: "Copa's High Roller"
Dam: CH "Amblyn Me'N' My Shadow Of CAJA"

3 months old

19 months old; with a buddy

1 year old; with Punkin

2 years old - No, they're NOT her
babies; she's just stealing their
sunshine.

2 1/2 years old -
Diva illustrates the downside of
those beautiful BIG Boston eyes:
They are prone to injury!

Diva is a *special* girl, in more ways than one. She is not a show dog. She is not a mama. She's not trained at all, really...
She's just... Well, she's... Hmmm. I'm not quite sure how to describe her! Perhaps it will help you to understand her if I
share some of her nicknames with you: Baby-Diva, Rocket Dog, Diva-Diva, and so on and so forth. This tiny dog has more
names than most prescription drugs! Does that tell you anything? Can you say, "spoiled rotten?" How about, "gets away with
everything because she's so danged cute?" Anyway! This is Diva's page, because we love her & love sharing her charm with
the world... And also because she threatened to pee in my slippers if I didn't let her have one.

"Saving Diva"

Diva was "supposed" to be the culmination of a whole lot of our dreams here at GrayHaven Bostons. We'd spent
several years looking long & hard for good dogs. Finally, we acquired a lovely CH female & a male we thought
nice enough to show & complete his title, as well. Unfortunately, Gambler quickly displayed his derision at the
whole "dog show thing." After three shows, we brought him home. Upon the advice of some veteran breeders, we
decided to go ahead & breed him to see if he might produce some puppies we could keep and show...

We were so excited when we knew it was finally time for Shadow's litter to be delivered! The Caesarean section
went perfectly, until the vet opened the uterus. One huge, water-filled puppy (anasarca or walrus puppy) nearly
filled the entire organ. She weighed nearly two pounds (normal Boston neonates weigh between six and 12
ounces). Within moments, this pitiful puppy died.

Baby-Diva was smushed beneath her engorged sister. I was beyond relieved to hear her whimper and snuffle
her first breaths. And she was so beautiful! Heartbroken, but happy to have even one live puppy from this
important breeding, I took Shadow & Diva home.

Shadow was a very good mama. Diva grew... And as she grew, so did our thoughts of the future. Two weeks
after she was born, all the dreams shattered. Overnight, Diva went from an active, thriving puppy to a listless,
whiny one. She rapidly lost weight as her ability to nurse faded. We were flummoxed. An infection? Was
Shadow too engorged with milk, making it impossible for Diva to latch-on to nurse? A thousand possibilities
went through our minds.

As Diva's condition deteriorated, I tried to bottle-feed her, hoping to help her gain some strength. Immediately,
I noticed that she was spraying lots of milk back out her nose. She choked every moment or two. In the blink of
an eye, Diva aspirated milk & stopped breathing as she choked & struggled vainly to draw air into her lungs. I
yelled for Matt to find the bulb syringe FAST. No one would have been fast enough, though, because Diva was
dying in my hands - not even three weeks old, yet! Desperately, I closed my mouth over her entire muzzle
(nose & mouth) and sucked as hard as I could, then spit. Over and over again. Then, I held her securely and
swung her upside down until milk flew from her mouth. She drew some weak breaths, cried softly at the rough
treatment, and shuddered in my hands. I wrapped her in the tail of my shirt & we raced for the vet.

Diva went into respiratory arrest again on the way to the veterinary clinic. I spent most of the drive doing
"mouth-to-snout" on her to provide oxygen to her body. Once we arrived, x-rays revealed a serious case of
pneumonia. Diva was given an antibiotic injection & special formula. I asked them to look at her nose, as I
had noticed that it appeared quite different from our other Bostons' noses. The vet didn't see anything to be
concerned about. We went home.

Less than two weeks later, we were back. Diva had again aspirated & choked. It was even more difficult to get
her breathing properly this time. Pneumonia again, due to aspiration of formula. We saw a different vet this
time. He did see something odd about her nose, & tried to pass several differing sizes of canulas (flexible tubes)
through her nostrils, to no avail. Her nostrils were nearly sealed closed. He asked if he could take her to the
back & try a finer canula.

After nearly thirty minutes waiting alone in the exam room, I let myself into the back of the clinic to see what
was happening with my puppy. I found a frantic vet & several techs working to resuscitate my unresponsive
Baby-Diva. What happened? I wanted to know! As he worked on her, the vet admitted that he had decided to
feed Diva some wet food & she had immediately choked on it & stopped breathing. She had been in full
respiratory arrest for over twenty minutes. It took over an hour to stabilize tiny Diva. I thought she looked more
dead than alive. The embarrassed vet arranged an appointment with a board certified veterinary surgeon. I
prayed that Diva would just survive until the date arrived.

Finally! It was so wonderful to meet someone who listened to us & saw immediately that Diva had a serious
problem: She had a birth defect of her nasal openings, sinuses & upper portions of her trachea & soft palate.
Tissue that should have been on the outside of her nose had instead developed inside her nasal passages & was
effectively sealing her nostrils shut. She had openings between her throat & sinuses, which allowed food &
liquid to pass between them. Diva needed surgery... But she wasn't even two months old, was frail & in
compromised condition already, & besides all that, she was tiny, tiny, tiny as a result of her inability to feed
properly. We had to somehow support her until she was at least three months old & a bit bigger & strong
enough to survive the surgery.

So we waited... I don't know how many times we wondered if we were doing the right thing. Should we just let
her go? Would her quality of life ever be worth this painful struggle? And each time we got close to deciding to
end her pain, Diva herself would change our minds by giving us a glimpse of her true self; her spunky,
rocket-dog attitude that said quite clearly, "I've got what it takes! Give me a chance!!" So, we did...

At only three months of age, weighing less than three pounds, Diva underwent surgery to correct & rebuild her
nasal structure so she would be able to breathe easier. The improvement was immediate & amazing.

Even though the surgeon was unable to locate & correct every aspect of the defect, Diva's recovery still seems
nearly miraculous. Aside from snorting & snoring (what Boston doesn't?), blowing spit from her nose, and an
inability to tolerate strenuous play, Diva is remarkably "normal," although small. About once a year she chokes
on some food or water & I have to doggy-Heimlich her &/or mouth-to-snout her. I see that as a very small price
to pay for having her in our lives. She may not be what we had hoped for or expected, but she's definitely what
we needed. Diva shines a light into our hearts & fills a space in our family that would just be empty & cold
without her "special touch..." Which basically consists of her orbiting around our heads while spraying spit in
our faces & whapping our faces with her widdle feet.

> Boston Byte <
Boston Terriers, being a brachycephalic (large headed) breed, with flattened facial features, are very
sensitive to extreme temperatures. Bostons should be kept in cool or air-conditioned homes during hot
summer months. Most Bostons quickly learn to love ice cubes & refrigerated carrots to help keep them cool.

3 years old -
Diva displays one of her greatest
talents:
Impersonating a turkey!