[ScentHound]

I recently picked up an awesome female Redbone Coonhound from a ASPCA shelter about 2 hours from me. I had her for one day and noticed some of the symtoms, but passed it off as stress related issues. The next day she started to throw up her food, so I took her to the doggy ER. I already knew what the Vet was going to tell me, but I had some hope. She threw a strong positive for the parvo virus. She spent the night there and was rehydrated, and watched. The next morning I took her to my normal Vet, where I hospitalized her to give her the best chances for recovery. I picked her up today and she is on the road to recovery and looking like she will be one of the survivors. She is eating like a horse, and annoying my poor old Beagle. I decided to NOT bring her back to the shelter simply because she deserved a chance to live just like those puppys that have had owners from the time they left the breeders. It was expensive but well worth it.

Is there any action that can be taken toward the shelter to insure that this doesn't happen to someone who else? I have contemplated calling them to inform them, but am waiting until I can talk to them in a civilized tone.

I also read that 80-90 percent of all shelters/hospitals/rescues have or have had some form of Parvo virus infection, but I would think that an ASPCA shelter would have higher standards then the others.

 

[ScentHound]

Sorry about the grammer, and spelling. I had not had my morning coffee at that point.

 

[Mikey]

LOL no worries about sp/gr Welcome to the forum!

My parents had the same thing with their first dog -Max-not parvo but distempter. Unfortunately it's very common for shelters to have outbreaks of these highly communicable diseases-there are too many animals in there. I know that they feel like they should have gone after the shelter after all they went through (he survived it)
Also our dog Mikey was born with Parvo and had a rough time of it.

Anyways -first and foremost get on the horn with the shelter-and ask to speak to supervisor/manager not the busy/stressed clerk who answers the phone. Ensure they know your dog had parvo confirmed and it came from their facility (the dog was not exposed after leaving). This is really really important as they need to know to be able to start early treatment (and often a full shelter cleanse etc).

I'm so glad your pup is recovering-there is a high fatality associated with Parvo and as I understand it takes a very good vet and very early intervention to make it -KUDOS and WOOT!

 

[ScentHound]

In about 30 minutes I am going to call the shelter and either drop a bombshell on them or confirm something they already knew. We shall see.

 

[ScentHound]

Update:

Just called them and informed them about the Parvo. They had absolutely no clue. In fact, the lady I talked to dropped the phone when I said that Missy was well into her exposure before I picked her up. They are going to cleanse the Kennel and have the rest checked for the disease. This is not an insult to anyone volunteering or working at a shelter, but one would think that it would be ideal to hire people that know something about the animals they care for (i.e. common contagions, diseases, poison, etc.). Let's hope that Missy was the only one and they don't have to put any of the dogs to sleep. I know they won't spend the amount of money I did.

 

[Criosphynx]

how old is your pup?

personally...if I adopt a dog under a year old from a shelter, I always know that parvo is a risk..and I just accept that risk.

Parvo incubates for almost two weeks, its possible there were no symptoms for the workers TO see.

...most shelters tho, allow you to return a sick dog, in exchange for a new one....not that that helps.



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[Mikey]

I'm SO glad you phoned them!! You may have just saved some lives! (Even if not shelter dogs if they do have to euthanize-and those you saved from suffering-but other dogs they may expose to in the shelter or if they adopted them out and exposed other dogs!!)

I know how you feel. Definitely their may have been no symptoms and sometimes, there are just TOO many animals to keep them protected. Vaccines take a while to take effect so even if they vaccinate when they walk in the door-it's still not full proof. As well, many shelters require/allow people to bring in their dogs from home (or other pets) if they are adopting-so that's a potential exposure, especially since they just can't check vet records for every pet who walks in the door with owners.

 

[ScentHound]

how old is your pup?

personally...if I adopt a dog under a year old from a shelter, I always know that parvo is a risk..and I just accept that risk.

I do expect with a pup her age (3 months) that there is a possibility of Parvo, but I also expect a shelter with an ASPCA endorsement to be under better standards. I saw the symptoms almost immediately. My Vet also said that the viral count from the fecal was consistent with a pup that was well into the stages of full blown Parvo. One other sign that she was showing at the shelter was the simple nature of the shape she was in. Her sister was also at the shelter. She looked well fed where as Missy was thin, almost like she had not eaten much for a while. Although, she seems to have a mild form of the virus, so the signs could have been so slight that they were missed.

She is a little down this morning but still ate very well. She did hack a couple of times, but it was no where near as violent as in the beginning. A little like she ate to fast, combined with the meds made her hack. She is starting to eat some dry food also. She is on Antibiotics, and an anti-nausea medication to help. It has been about 4-5 days, so I am hoping she is through the worse of it.

 

[pawzaddict]

I gotta agree with Crio on this one, I have seen a dog get parvo and symptoms came on SUDDENLY. Shelters are also so full right now and it is hard to keep each individual dog/cat/exotic under close watch. Also most of the people who work at shelters are volunteers not employees. It is very frustrating to deal with it, that is understandable. These dogs sometimes come in off the street and get adopted out within a day or two, not enough time by any means for a serious disease to be caught. It sucks but like Crio said, you kind of have to just accept the possibility of a rescue dog from a shelter being sick. Hope your little girl gets better

 

[Mikey]

Scenthound-In canada (I'm not sure about the U.S.) -there is absolutely (sit down for this) NO regulations about using SPCA or Humane Society in any shelters name. In fact we have 13 Humane Societies in my province and ONLY one is 'accredited' to have the name.

I can't say that's the case where you are-but often shelters can call themselves whatever they want and it has no bearing on their practices

 

[Criosphynx]

I think that shelters...aspca or not...are underfunded and understaffed...and simply do the best they can.

Everyone I know in real life that has adopted a shelter puppy has lost it to parvo.

when I adopted Chili I was almost positive he would have it. I just chose to run with it.


Sorry this happend to you, but maybe next time a rescue organization, or an older dog would be a better choice for you. As much as that sucks to say... I think thats just reality.



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[ScentHound]

Wow, I go to work and come home to this, lol. I agree with all of you. Let me clarify. All life is very valuable to me. I study life philosophy according to Buddha. I am also a self admitted idealist that is a bit opinionated (bad combo). This fact sometimes allows me to get angry at things I cannot change, and blurt out what I think about it. My mother use to tell me I have "foot in mouth" disease. I guess I must have come across as a "loudmouthed Texan", lol. I am sorry for that.

Overcrowded, under-manned, under-funded shelters are definately doing the best they can. In all the years I have had dogs, cats, birds, lizards, horses, cows, bulls, even a raccoon when I was a kid in Minnesota, I have only purchased from 2 breeders. All others were rescues and shelter animals. Honestly, this is the first Parvo puppy I have ever gotten. I must have just been lucky according the stats I have been reading on the net.

 

[Mikey]

Very true No need to clarify-we all very much understand feeling upset at getting a sick dog Hows your pup doing now?

 

[ScentHound]

Very true No need to clarify-we all very much understand feeling upset at getting a sick dog Hows your pup doing now?

Eating like a pig, drinking like a camel, and acting like there is nothing wrong. I truly hope that this is the end of it and she doesn't get worse. She has not thrown up for 4 days, and is starting to act like a hound pup for the first time since I have had her. My vet has been calling every day to check on her. I may have to ask her on a date and buy her dinner for the special attention, lol. I have been working a little with Missy when she is running around the yard acting like a fool and have already whistle trained her a couple of commands. She is actually one of the more remarkable hounds I have seen. She is definately from a strong bloodline. It is just to bad she went through this. I still am worried about her and will be until she is all healed up.

 

[fawkese1]

Wow, I go to work and come home to this, lol. I agree with all of you. Let me clarify. All life is very valuable to me. I study life philosophy according to Buddha. I am also a self admitted idealist that is a bit opinionated (bad combo). This fact sometimes allows me to get angry at things I cannot change, and blurt out what I think about it. My mother use to tell me I have "foot in mouth" disease. I guess I must have come across as a "loudmouthed Texan", lol. I am sorry for that.

Overcrowded, under-manned, under-funded shelters are definately doing the best they can. In all the years I have had dogs, cats, birds, lizards, horses, cows, bulls, even a raccoon when I was a kid in Minnesota, I have only purchased from 2 breeders. All others were rescues and shelter animals. Honestly, this is the first Parvo puppy I have ever gotten. I must have just been lucky according the stats I have been reading on the net.

i think you'll see that all of us on here suffer from "foot in mouth " syndrome (i prefer that to disease ) from time to time. parvo is very nasty, understandable that you'd be upset (to say the least) parvo was almost epidemic where i grew up....i never lost one of my dogs to it, but lots of people i know did and it happened just like that...one sec they are fine and the next "sick as a dog" (if you'll excuse my poor use of pun here) we found out that a pup had parvo at a house we moved into and my mom bleached the entire place, yard, grass floors, everything.....

on the bright side of everything, your beautiful girl is doing well, and that is awesome:rockon:



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[Criosphynx]

No worries or need to explain...we understand your upset. Glad your pup is going to make it. I've been there and back (not parvo, but everything else under the sun) for lack of a better way to say it...you just get "used" to it. Its worth it in the end...every penny.



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[ScentHound]

Crio, I like your reference to Pavlov's dog.


Well...One thing is for sure. She is the most expensive Shelter Dog I have ever had, lol. Sorry, I just looked at her and had a chuckle about that fact. Thanks for the chat everyone. I guess it was all I needed to relax.

Hound

 

[pawzaddict]

Definitely no reason to explain, in fact I am the same way LOL I do not rescue from the pound and am careful about rescuing from our HS because of diseases and all the other pets I have. I think we can all agree on one thing, you have a great big heart! Not many people will treat parvo in a dog they rescued.

 

[ScentHound]

Her fever came back last night. I stayed up all night with her making sure she was not losing to much of her fluids. She is hacking a bit again. Not violent, but like she has a bone stuck in her throat. It has been 5 full days since she started to show signs and was diognosed. She is still on anti-nausea meds, broad spectrum antibiotic, a prescription wet food diet from the Vet, and a pedialyte mixture. Her stool this afternoon was semi-solid and is starting to return to a normal color. The vet will only give broad, non-specific answers like she should in her position. I tried searching the net but couldn't come up with one factual answer, just a bunch sales adds, and info on prevention.

I know the incubation period is between 5 and 10 days, but does anyone know the average time it takes this virus to run its coarse? Do you think a relaps is possible? Forgive me if these seem like simple questions, I have been up for 3 days(minus a few cat naps) and am having a hard time thinking.

Oh yeah...She cornered a possum in the back yard this morning at about 3am. I thought she was going wake up the neighbor, lol.

 

[Criosphynx]

I believe its about a week or so. I do know they shed the virus after they are "cured" just like distemper...for about a month or so.

I doubt relapse unless your pup encounters a different strain. If they beat it, there should be plenty of antibodies to fight it in the future, just like how a vaccine works.



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