Our labradoodle Auggie was our pandemic puppy and our first child. My husband and I took him to puppy socials, behavior classes, and socialized him with people of all ages and backgrounds and contexts so he would be a well-behaved, happy dog. In this, I think we were successful, because everyone who met him called him the perfect pup. When our daughter came along, he also became the best brother. 

I will never forget February 17, 2025. Our life went from normal to nightmare within a few short days. On Monday, Auggie got sick first thing in the morning. This wasn’t unusual, since he’s a labradoodle who has had GI issues before. But the vomiting continued throughout the day, and by early afternoon he was refusing to come inside. I decided to take him to our vet, wondering if he had consumed some of the rose fertilizer that my husband had put down the day before.

Our local veterinarian agreed to check him out even though it was almost the end of his day. Within an hour, he told us to take Auggie to the animal emergency center; his kidney values were high. We rushed Auggie to the local emergency animal hospital where he was checked in overnight for observation. The next morning, when I visited him, he was not the dog I knew. His eyes were glassy, and he barely recognized or interacted with me. By the evening, the emergency vet told us there was nothing more they could do and referred us to UC Davis’ veterinary hospital. 

Our dear, sweet pup was dying. 

My husband and I drove him to Davis immediately. I sat with Auggie in the back seat while he lay catatonic beside me. It was surreal. I had never expected to lose my first dog at such a young age.

For the next two days, the doctors in internal medicine at the UC Davis William R. Pritchard Veterinary Medical Teaching Hospital confirmed that Auggie had an acute kidney injury. They ran every possible test to determine the cause, and tried multiple approaches to treat his kidneys. Despite that, the prognosis was unclear. We were told we had a choice: to try dialysis or to euthanize our dog. 

We drove to UC Davis that afternoon crying the whole way, preparing to say goodbye to our beloved fur baby. When we arrived, the team at the hospital walked us into the intensive care room. As we turned the corner, Auggie stood up and wagged his tail, and tried to walk over to me. The vets in the ICU all jumped to stop him from walking over, because he was connected to multiple lines, but that was the moment I knew that my pup was still fighting to live. We had to give him the best chance we could. 

We spent almost two weeks driving back and forth between our home in the Bay Area and UC Davis every day. Auggie had two rounds of dialysis. My days revolved around the two phones calls we would get every morning and evening, updating us on Auggie’s labs. I scoured the internet for studies on acute kidney injuries in dogs.  We still didn’t know what caused his AKI, and so we couldn’t be sure whether he would fully recover. 

Throughout this traumatizing experience, Auggie’s care team was phenomenal. Their empathy, dedication, patience and genuine care for our dog and our family was beyond any medical care I’ve ever experienced. Thankfully the dialysis helped, and Auggie was discharged after about two weeks, still with a dialysis catheter and feeding tube in his body. 

A few days after discharge, I took Auggie back to UC Davis for a follow-up appointment, expecting him to resist going into the building. Instead, my goofball pup ran into the building, crying with excitement, and jumped all over the vet techs who came out to see him. I could clearly see how well they had taken care of our pup. 

Auggie made a slow but steady recovery over the next six months, finally achieving normal labs by August. Even after we stopped making the drive to UC Davis, the veterinarian made time to review his monthly lab results and tailor his care plan. 

We got our happy, sweet dog back and I can’t express how grateful we are. We thank UC Davis every day for giving us more time with Auggie. Everyone who knew him before called him the perfect pup. Everyone who has known him and his story since now calls him the miracle dog. 

Thank you, UC Davis, for saving our family. We got to start 2026 with joy and hope because your team gave us a miracle. 

With gratitude,

Isha and AJ 

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