It's so very sad that cost is basically what killed those dogs.

I understand that shelters can't save everyone and I don't blame them I just find the whole situation disgusting.

Very much so. What I'm wondering is how it got there in the first place. Shelters are usually exceptionally well-maintained, making it difficult for parvo to manifest there unless it's brought in. So, was it brought in by a prospective adopter? A worker? Did the puppies already have it?

It is hard for any shelter to be that clean. I pretty much figure any puppies young enough at a shelter will get parvo, though I have seen some litters that didn't. My mom brought in a litter of parvo puppies from the shelter once. I think there were 6 of them. Only 2 survived and both are nut cases. Not sure if that was due to the brother-sister breeding (the shelter was stupid and put them both in a QT kennel together and what do you know! puppies!) or the parvo, though I think some of it is from the parvo. Esme's, the puppy my mom kept, back legs shake for no reason, she's very noise sensitive, and has a screw loose!

BTW, I don't think there is any test to see if a dog has parvo. I think they just know from the symptoms.

SaraB wrote:

BTW, I don't think there is any test to see if a dog has parvo. I think they just know from the symptoms.

There is... But once those signs and symptoms are there it's game over really. It can just run rampant so quickly...

Miami Dade animal control seems to have outbreaks every few months. They unfortunately shut down, quarantine what they can, but do end up euthanizing quite a lot of dogs...

As for how they can get it or where it came from... Most of the time it's brought in by strays (usually sickly pups) or it can be brought on by vaccination.

arooroomom wrote:

As for how they can get it or where it came from... Most of the time it's brought in by strays (usually sickly pups) or it can be brought on by vaccination.

What do you mean, brought on by vaccination?? That's the first I've heard of that, and we have BAD bouts of Parvo in this area, so I'm curious now.

Tiff&Kya wrote:

arooroomom wrote:

As for how they can get it or where it came from... Most of the time it's brought in by strays (usually sickly pups) or it can be brought on by vaccination.

What do you mean, brought on by vaccination?? That's the first I've heard of that, and we have BAD bouts of Parvo in this area, so I'm curious now.

Vaccinating an immunosuppressed puppy with a MLV vaccination can sometimes trigger the very virus the vaccination was attempting to protect against... Since MLV are very weak live cultures of the disease... If the dog is very immunosuppressed it can bring about the disease outright. Which is why the habitual act of vaccinating anything and everything (regardless of condition) is very very flawed, IMO. Those puppies didn't look too healthy in the initial pictures so they could have been harboring the virus, picked it up from another sickly puppy in the area, or it could have been caused by vaccination.

They had all puppies in the shelter in an isolation room with each other. They said they didn't handle them and would call them to one side of the cage or the other to clean the cages. From what they told my boyfriend they had taken in a stray that apparently had parvo and that's how all got infected. I just hope for the ones who were already adopted out that have gotten sick that the people that took them home don't have any dogs who are now sick. I would feel horrible if we would've brought him home on Saturday and our Chase got sick. I guess things work out the way they are supposed to! (Him having to stay to be neutered is how they found it.)

Parvo is going around big time up here. It made the news in fort wayne IN just yesterday, crazy how it doesn't seem to be as isolated. The puppies here are in a shelter also.

The shelter called me this afternoon but my phone was on silent. I'm calling back in the morning. Wondering what they were calling about.

So they were calling to see if I want to foster him for 3 weeks to see if he has it or not and if not then he'll get neutered. I asked the woman there what she would do and she said honestly she wouldn't do it.

If you have a place in your house where you can put him where chase can't go, and if you were careful about washing your hands, etc after contact it could be possible. Is chase vaccinated?

How do they not know if he has it... There is no test that can be done? I know kiara got tested for it (granted they said it doesn't always show up) but if he's around a bunch of other dogs w it, it would be surprising if he didn't.. So they still haven't put them down yet?

My friends all came into contact w a puppy great dane e parvo then came over and was all over kiara. I heard a week later about it and fliped out. I noticed she wasnt eating or drinking much (she was acting normal) but she had runny poop in the house constanyly which was not normal and it smelled TERRIBLE (parvo makes their poop even worse smelling) When I thought kiara had parvo I was freaking out and she was over one years old and they said the older they are the less likely they are to contract parvo, it's usually a puppy thing and they older they are the less likely to contract it, especially if they are up to date in shots. They also said of they did get it as older dog (over 6 months) their reaction is no where as serious and rarely life threating in a dog 6+ months. That's what I was told and researched online... Kiara was fine and said she probably passed the virus on through her stool in about a week. And the 2 other dogs I were staying w did not get sick either.

Is it me or does this shelter seems really wishy-washy?

I thought they were euthanizing all the pups?

If you do foster the pup you will have to be very careful. I would wear a certain set of clothes around him and change clothes and wash up if you're going near your other dog, set aside a certain area for him to poo (pads inside or something) that other dogs wont be around, wash things in a separate load from your other washables, etc. It can be done, but it will be a big pain in the butt. It may save his life, though.

I'd pass on the fostering with the others having parvo there is a darn good chance the others have it to just not showing symptoms yet.

My boyfriend is the one who called Monday and from what he said they would all be put down. I'm wondering now if that was the ones who have shown signs of it. I'm at work all day from 6:30 am until 4:00 pm so fostering a puppy who may have a very serious deadly disease would probably not work if he got sick. And having the worker herself tell me she wouldn't do it made me really second guess it. And I do know that if he (and his brothers/sisters) are healthy they will be adopted in no time. I think we've decided to rescue a female 2 1/2 year old breeder release who is in a rescue in Missouri and save her. I've been in contact with her rescue for the past 3-4 months.

Aww, at least you are able to rescue her! Snow was a breeder, and was two when I adopted her....she is the most good natured and lovable dog I've ever owned

I would call my vet just out of curiosity and ask what they thought.

Hi,
First of all, congratulations on whichever dog you end up adopting! Whatever decision you make will be the right one. Just a few thoughts.....
I work at a large (100+) all breed rescue facility in Vermont that pulls off death row from southern shelters, and we deal with parvo on a more or less constant basis. I am personally much more familiar with this then i would like it be, as i am more often then not the one who takes home sick pups for 24 nursing (yes, i bring them in the same area that Arkan lives in. No, i am not particularly worried that he would ever become infected).
Brady is right, parvo is basically a danger to puppies or immuno-compromised dogs; on the extreamly small chance a vaccinated dog with normal immunity over 6 months becomes infected, it is almost always very minimal, if it is noticible at all. To my knowledge, in 16 years of operation we have never had an adult dog over the age of 4 months with a confirmed case of parvo (Totally not saying it wouldnt be possible--just that statistically im not concerned).
The presence of parvo is of no reflection on the shelter facility- this is an incredibly contageous and tenacious disease that can be found in the soil of a contaminated area up to three years later. Testing can be done but not until the sickness is somewhat progressed and false negitives are common. It is considered, unfortunatly, almost common in many big shelters (one of our main partners in SC has a special 'Parvo Room"). Honestly, if your dog has ever passed through a shelter or high-population rescue situation, theres a pretty decent chance they have been exposed, but have been vaccinated or their normal immunity has fought it off naturally.
If you change you mind and decide to give him a chance, please feel free to PM me.......I have nursed more parvo cases then i care to think of.

Thanks for that ^

After talking to them again and being told "he has been exposed a bunch of the puppies came down with it" I think we're going to have to back out on it. If I brought him home and he got sick and died I'd feel terrible and who knows what my daughter would think. We are going to go pick up Snow, the 2 1/2 year old breeder release at the rescue, on Sunday. I'll post tons of pictures.

Yay, another snow?? Lol that's awesome! I can't wait to see pics of her!

[img][/img]

Here is her picture from the rescue.

Aww poor baby! I love her eyes!!