Placing Parvo Puppies

[Haven]

Hi, I'm a new member here. (read my intro post here)

I recently became part of the foster team for my local humane society and my first batch of animals was four shelter puppies, all brothers from a litter of ten. They were approximately six to seven weeks old and rather skinny. The puppies started having mild to severe diarrhea after a few days and the next morning the smallest puppy showed serious lethargy, loss of appetite, and vomited once. I immediately brought him in to be tested, as the day before I had been informed that it was possible that they had been exposed to the parvo virus.

As suspected, the test came back positive. It was assumed at this point that all four dogs were infected, with the smallest one just showing worse symptoms. It took some effort to convince the staff that I was willing to care for the puppies from my home while receiving medical treatment twice a day. It turns out that one of the vet techs had a sister from the same litter who had come down with parvo the night before. Since she had decided to treat her foster puppy, she was willing to help me medicate my group, therefore lowering the chance of contamination to others. I am so lucky she agreed to this, as the alternative in a large shelter would most likely have meant putting them to sleep to prevent the spread of the disease.

This little drama occurred last Thursday, and after four days of around the clock care, we happily have four quickly recovering, very energetic puppies who now only have to take a clavamox pill twice a day. (We were able to switch off of injections last night, yea!) Their appetites have become voracious and they are finally putting on weight.

These puppies will remain in my home until they are adopted, since they apparently carry the virus for some time after they recover. In order to help place them responsibly, I want to have as much information to give to potential owners as possible. However, I do not want to scare away any chance of finding them a happy, permanent home.

I know there have been many posts about parvo on this forum. Believe me, they were so helpful during the worst stages of the disease! I still have a few questions, though. Mainly, I am curious how long the little guys will carry the virus and "disperse" it into the environment. Also, what other complications come with adopting a parvo puppy?

Any comments/advice are appreciated. Thank you!

[Tiffany0204]

I know zilch about parvo, although I read in another thread that the disease can last on areas for around a month? And to use a chlorine bleach solution to disinfect your home to try and kill off the virus.

Other than that totally plagerized bit of info, I can't help you.

I really just wanted to say that it was so nice of you to not give up on those puppies, and are with them for the long haul. I wish alot more people were like you!

[calgal]

I would be asking the Vet. these questions. I'm so glad to hear the puppies are doing so well. That's amazing considering it usually kills young pups.

[Haven]

Thanks to both of you. For sure, I am getting info from the vet, just wanted some clarification in this area. Plus, I know that some of you may have had experiences that maybe this shelter isn't aware of, so I figure it could never hurt to get a second opinion!

As far as cleaning goes, that is pretty much my life right now. Even after I disinfect everything that they ever might have come in contact with (even if it was just from something like them touching me/me touching the couch), I still won't be able to foster any puppy/dog who has not been fully vaccinated for at least six months. That's ok actually, since I think an older dog would probably be a good change of pace after all of this.

I'm more worried about them infecting other puppies after they leave my home. I just want to make sure I have all the right information so we can try and prevent the spread of this horrible disease.



Here's a picture of the gang the day we brought them home. It was a few days before they showed symptoms. From left to right, it is Otis, Logan, Milo, and Fred. Milo is the little guy who worried us the most. I fear he will always be a bit of a snuggle hog, since he got so much attention while he was sick! I'll post another picture once I have time. They move a lot faster now, so it's a bit harder!

[Crossfire Bulldogs]

Adorable babies! Kudos to you for taking them in and nursing them back to health!

Just a note - I believe that the parvo virus is actually able to live outside of the body for well over 9 months. Even in extreme conditions. I agree that checking with your vet is the best thing to do at this point when it comes time for placement.

[JackLover]

Oh I want Milo what a cutie

[TribalRats]

I want Fred! What a cute bunch!! Congrats to you...all of you. What a wonderful thing you did taking care of those babies like that. It most certainly is a VERY big job. My hat is off to you.
Parvo can live for a very long time and as far as I know bleach in the only thing (besides very expensive chemicals made to kill Parvo) that kills it.
Again, congrats to you. Please keep us posted on there progress and there placement, I would love to watch them grow.

[Buddy_DaMutt]

what a cute bunch of pups!

[Jamilupine]

I want all the pups!

[flyndog]

Awwww.
Poor puppies! Lucky to have found you, though. Keep us posted about their progress?

[Haven]

Today started off so wonderfully. A woman who has been interested in Milo from the beginning put a hold on him today (a hold= a deposit and application at the Humane Society). Then, a Mom and her 8-year old daughter and 2-year old son came over because they were interested in adopting Fred or Logan. It turns out Otis was the one that stole their hearts and after spending some wonderful time giving him treats for sitting and snuggling him, they went over to the Humane Society and put a hold on him.

Our day went downhill quickly after that. After dinner, Otis threw up. Then he seemed to be tired and listless, just wanting to be held. Well, we weren't taking any chances, so my husband and I rushed him over to the shelter. I was just sure that it was something simple like he managed to eat something that didn't agree with him (like newspaper, or some stuffing).

When we got there, he was just not acting himself. They took his temperature and we noticed he was a little dehydrated. So they wanted to be proactive and started him on an IV. He absolutely hates needles, so he cried like a baby. We tried to calm him down when all of a sudden he just seemed to go into shock. He was whisked away into the surgery room. The next thing I know the staff is telling me that he died.

I just can't believe it. He was 100% this morning. Happy, energetic, wrestling, eating, and his bathroom trips were all normal. We may not ever know why this happened. They will examine him tomorrow and see if they can figure it out. The theory is that he had a secondary infection or perhaps he was still experiencing an issue with worms, although they had all been treated two weeks ago.

Now, on top of everything else, I'm scared to death that the rest of the puppies will get sick again too. There was just no warning that Otis was this sick.

I cannot stop thinking about the family that was going to adopt him. They were so excited and he would have been so happy with them. I just hope that they still have it in their hearts to rescue a different dog.

We only knew Otis for two weeks, but he was an incredible dog. He was so smart, loving and sweet. He loved training sessions and playing with our dog Chili. I really just can't believe he left us so quickly. I am so upset right now. My husband and I both thought if we could have kept one dog as our own- it would have been Otis. It turns out he *was* our dog. We hope we gave him the best two weeks he could have in his short little life.

I thought I would share a few pictures of Otis. This one is from yesterday. He was giving me kisses and loving all the attention.


This one is from this morning when he was playing with my dog Chili. How can it be just this morning that he was running around like crazy, trying to get Chili to wrestle? Chili really bonded with Otis, just like a good big brother should.


I will update again if I find out anything else. Please keep my puppies in your thoughts for the next few days. Thank you!

[Crossfire Bulldogs]

I'm so very sorry to hear about Otis.

[mrsgrubby]

OHHHHH how horrible. I am sooo sorry. Poor baby, I just can't believe it. Soooo very sorry!!!

[Giny]

Aw, I'm sorry! It's so scary how puppies' health can go downhill fast. Bless your heart for devoting yourself to them. Hope all his siblings will stay healthy.

[Haven]

Thank you all for your kind words.

I just heard back from the vet at the shelter after they examined Otis. It turns out he had a congenital kidney defect and that his passing was not due to the parvo infection. His life may have been shortened by his parvo experience, but sadly, I guess his life would have been too short even if he had never had parvo.

I know I shouldn't fixate on this, but my husband and I both would like to know if he was in a great deal of pain because of his kidneys failing. We just do not know if there was some symptom we missed. I wish I could have prevented him from having such a horrible experience right at the end. If anyone has any expertise or knowledge in this area that they would be willing to share, I would be so appreciative.

On top of everything else, we are moderately worried that his brothers may have the same defect. I'm supposed to collect urine from the other three so they can test them for it on Monday. I'm, umm, not quite sure how to do that. Do vets have collection tubes for this like they do for stool samples?

Fred, Logan, and Milo all seem to be especially active today. They had trouble sleeping last night, which they haven't had since the first night here. They are all receiving lots of hugs today (and a few tears that they seem happy to clean up for me) Logan learned to climb up two stairs today. I think he's scared to go any higher. Fred is learning how *not* to eat my hair, and Milo wrestled with Chili like he's 50 lbs instead of 5. So, although it's been difficult, all the dogs have been working hard to get some smiles out of us today.