Maleah Stringer: Parvo is a preventable tragedy

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November 28, 2009

Anonymous The Herald Bulletin Sat Nov 28, 2009, 04:06 PM EST

Poco was a little Jack Russell mix who was brought to the shelter by his owner. He was a lovely little dog. He was very timid and afraid so we kept him in the medical room in a crate. Two days after Poco arrived, he started to act as if he didn’t feel well. He stopped eating, was lethargic and started vomiting along with horrible diarrhea — all symptoms of the dreaded canine virus parvo. We did a parvo test and unfortunately it was positive. We took up donations for veterinary care and rushed him to a veterinarian. To our great sadness, poor little Poco didn’t make it through the night.

Poco did not contract parvo from our Animal Care and Control facility; he had been exposed before he came to us. The incubation time is generally three to seven days before parvo breaks once a dog is exposed. This means that Poco had not been vaccinated. He was a young dog who had very little defenses against the virus.

Parvo is a horrible death for dogs, and yet so easily preventable. Just vaccinate your dogs. Vaccinate them when they are puppies and follow up with the boosters. A dog who has parvo has a 50/50 chance of survival, and that survival is dependent on catching it in the first stages and getting immediate veterinary care.

So many dogs come to shelters either already dying with parvo or having been exposed to Parvo. Parvo is highly contagious and requires an extraordinary amount of cleaning and disinfecting to get rid of it. Cages, kennels, grass areas must be sanitized — anywhere the dog has been. Parvo is transmitted mainly through feces but it can also be through vomit or saliva.

Parvo is generally a young dog diseas,e but a senior dog can get it as well if he is exposed and has not been vaccinated. Vaccinations are part of responsible pet ownership. A simple vaccination can save your dog’s life. The needed vaccinations at a low cost clinic are equivalent to the price of a carton of cigarettes. No dog deserves to die such a horrible death, not when it is so easily preventable.

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We are excited to announce Anderson Animal Care and Control is participating this year in the Festival of the Trees at The Paramount Theatre in downtown Anderson. We will be serving a chicken noodle dinner from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. We are desperately seeking volunteers for this event. In addition to servers, we need delivery drivers, table attendants, dog handlers and greeters. If you can give a couple of hours on Thursday, we would be so grateful. It’s our goal to sell 250 tickets. Please help us make this event a great success! If you are available and would like to volunteer please e-mail hridenour@cityofanderson.com or maleahstringer@aol.com.

Carry out or order ahead and we’ll deliver to your business.

Maleah Stringer, program director of Anderson Animal Care and Control, is also president of the Animal Protection League. She can be reached at maleahstringer@aol.com.

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