Parvo Scare

When your doorbell rings at 4:30 in the morning, it’s usually not good. This morning it was a neighbor’s daughter who woke us up to tell us that their puppy, Oso, had been sick for the past couple of days and couldn’t keep any water or food down. The little guy had now reached the point where he nearly couldn’t walk.

We immediately suspected Parvo, but there was nothing we could do that early; my wife told the girl that she’d take Oso to the vet when they opened. She then called the emergency number and the vet recommended wrapping Oso in blankets when she brought him in, to help prevent contamination.

When the time came to take Oso to the vet, he couldn’t be found anywhere. My wife and the neighbors searched without luck, and were fearing that Oso had gone off to die. The most likely place was a hay field behind the neighbor’s house, which they tried to search. Everyone pretty much lost all hope when the farmer began mowing his hay.

But then Oso came stumbling out of our pasture. My wife and the neighbor’s girl took him into the vet, who confirmed that he had Parvo. They left Oso and he was put on IV plus whatever medications are given to treat Parvo.

I’m considering one of the Parvo sanitizing products but our vet recommended mixing bleach (the non-bleaching or color safe variety of course) with water and spraying down any bedding, material, etc. that could have been contaminated. The material is then to be air-dried in the sun. It was also recommended that we clean the floors with the bleach solution.

Sorry - to bring you up to date, we got a Spinoni puppy last month named Elvis, who will be 5 months old in July and are getting another Spinoni pup in August. 

Elvis should be okay because he’s had all his shots, and our puppy-to-be will have had her first set of shots by the time we pick her up. Nonetheless, we needed to sanitize the Jeep, garage, and floor where Ricky – the neighbor’s other dog – came into our house. As a precaution, we’ll be removing our shoes before coming into the house, and have Clorox wipes on hand to wipe down anything that could have come into contact with Oso.

Since the Parvo virus can remain for up to a year, our new puppy will need to be quarantined in the house and back yard until after she gets her second set of shots. Without knowing how Oso contracted Parvo, anything could be a carrier and I’ll probably need to do some of my training in the back yard rather than the pasture.