rescued a puppy...died of parvo a week later

caelihan · 01-02-2008, 10:14 AM

we rescued a 12-week old german sheperd mix puppy before christmas. we found him on petfinders.org and visited him at the shelter the next day and immediately adopted him. his name was wally, i figured the people at the rescue named him that because he was found at a wal-mart parking lot. he was adorable and sweet and he liked to play. we actually only had one day of having him as a normal puppy. on the second night, he threw up his everything he ate and just became extremely weak after that. he started having bloody diarrhea and was throwing up everything and he also completely lost his appetite. he still drank a lot of water on his own but he became very weak.

my husband and i slept in the living room beside his pen for a week, caring for him and changing his puppy pads whenever he pooped or threw up. it was very hard for me emotionally, seeing him getting thinner and weaker. one day he seemed to be getting better, waking us up with his barks. he wanted to get out of his pen and he seemed active. he even ate some treats. we still went to the vet that day and he said he thinks wally has the parvovirus and he got some shots and some medication. when we got home, he started getting worse again and it was all downhill after that. we force fed him gatorade and some food but he threw it all up. then he finally stopped drinking water and we brought him in to the vet again and he was put on IV. i loved and cared so much for wally now, it was extremely devastating for me. when we visited him at the vet the next day, he seemed to look better because of the IV but he seemed confused and had gone blind. we only realized he had gone completey blind the next day we visited him. i was sobbing so hard when i saw him. he was moaning in pain and he looked all drugged up. when he heard us and smelled us, he tried to get up and move closer to us. i was crying uncontrollably and it was a very painful experience for me. the vet said that he feels with all the medications and IV and his current condition, he will only suffer. we were flying to NY that day and we stopped by see him and hope he gets better when we get back. i wasn't expecting to see him in such a bad condition and i wasn't expecting to put him down that day. the nurse let me hold him in a towel and i cried while holding and stroking him. i have never cried so hard in my life and i felt like my heart was getting ripped out . seeing my young baby gone blind and in so much pain was just unbearable. on december 28, 2007, wally, our first baby, was put to sleep.

it has been 5 days now since wally has gone but i still the pain everyday. i am angry at the people who left him at the parking lot. he was probably just 10 weeks only and was already in such bad condition that his immune system could not cope with the infection despite all the medications and IV's .

we are thinking of getting another puppy or dog......but i don't think i can deal with that yet.....

poohlp · 01-02-2008, 10:31 AM

That is so sad and I am soooo sorry for your loss. At least you can know that in his short life Wally had the chance to know what it was like to be loved and cared for, even if only for such a short time.

Just like people, loving dogs and having them in our lives can be a hard and emotional road. I hope that when you are ready, you will be able to find it in your heart to give another dog the chance to know a loving family. With luck and hard work, you will see that with the heart break can come incredible joy that can lift you spirits even from the depths of despair.

briteday · 01-02-2008, 01:04 PM

All I can offer is that time will help lessen the pain of losing your pup. And if it's any consolation, I've had dogs all my life and still do the "ugly cry" every time I lose one of them. Our vet always has a cup of tea ready for me when I come in with one that is at the end of its rope.

Please be very careful about bringing any other dog into your home now that it is infected with parvo. The virus is now all over the house. And parvo is a very hardy virus.

First throw away EVERYTHING the dog used...bed, collar, bowls, toys, chews, food.

Then, the best thing to do, sooner the better, is to wash every hard surface with bleach and water (20% bleach:water). Do not dry the surfaces but rather wash, then wipe off excess water leaving a damp surface, and allow to air dry. It is the oxidation during the air dry that kills bacteria (works like waterless hand sanitizer kinda). Anything that can be thrown into the wash machine should be washed in the hottest water possible for that fabric. Where ever possible, what cannot be washed, spray with Lysol (only that brand, no other) until damp, again do not dry, allow to air dry. The rest of the house just really clean, I mean REALLY clean...like your mom is coming to visit.

We fostered a litter of kittens that ended up being parvo positive. Our vet advised us not to bring any young (immature immune system) or immunocompromised (already sick or old) animals into our house for at least one year. All of our animals are adults. So that wasn't a problem once the house was thoroughly cleaned, and the fosters are always confined to one room anyway, and we kept that room closed off to the animals for one year.

If you have your heart set on a pup, talk to your vet first. Otherwise I would aim for a dog that is 6 months or older.

ILuvCanines · 01-02-2008, 04:46 PM

caelihan

I am so sorry your first experience had to go so horribly wrong. I'm also sorry there are wacked people like that in the world that could not only dump a sick puppy, but take advantage of the person that was the one who stumbled upon the puppy.

I know how quick we can become attached to an animal, and when the time is right, for Wally's sake adopt another pup who hopefully you can have a long, healthy and happy life with--in honor of Wally.

007Dogs · 01-02-2008, 10:34 PM

I am so sorry you lost your baby. I think all rescues should be doing parvo testing before sending any dog/pup home. It's not fair for any family to have to go through loosing a new family member, when the shelter or rescue group could screen before releasing animals.

If you are planning on bringing home another pup, instead of bleach, this is the disinfectant recommended by my vet if you have had a parvo exposure. It is called TekTrol and can be purchased at www.valleyvet.com by the gallon. It will not ruin carpets and other items like bleach can.

caelihan · 01-03-2008, 11:04 AM

thank you, guys, for the advice and the kind words of comfort. i have already washed wally's kennel and pen with bleach and water (when he was still at the vet), as well as all his blankets and toys and will store them in a special wally's box. i am also thinking of getting tektrol to wash everything clean.

when we get a new puppy or dog, we will get new items - i don't want to risk any chances this time. in spite of the pain of the loss of my wally, i am willing to love and adopt another pet.

4doggiemama · 01-05-2008, 02:33 PM

I am so sorry for your loss. Thank you for opening your heart to a rescue. It takes only a moment for these furbabies to grab our hearts. To let go is so painful! May this new year bring healing to your heart.

nihal · 01-08-2008, 06:32 AM

That is so awful!!! I had a similar experience last year when I bought (from a vet!!!!) two german shepards at my fathers' request. First one got sick, and died within 72 hours of our getting him, then the other got sick and died AT THE VETs a couple of days later. But I was so outraged when the first died that I had a fit against the vet, so when the second died, he never even bothered to tell me, wouldn't take my calls etc. To this day.
I have since heard many similar stories around this vet, not necessarly parvo related but just of general mishandling of pets, in frequent cases causing them to die.

But it was heartbreaking, and the second dog especially went through the same stages as Wally, seeming better at some points, then suddenly going down hill etc.

Unfortunately, I live in a country where there are no animal rights and there is no legal action I can take against the vet, otherwise I would have hounded him into the ground and, even though it has been more than a year now, if I had the opportunity i would STILL pursue him.... The most I can do is spread word of mouth as far as possible to decrease his activity, but that only goes so far...

On another, totally different score, a few days ago I "rescued" (was given, and accepted), a 4,5 month old puppy who clearly comes from a puppy mill, has severe bone deformation and, according to MY (excellent) vet, will have to eventually be put to sleep if and when his living conditions are too unbearable for him... meanwhile, he is happily charging around my garden with my 3 other dogs (all well, thank goodness!!). The way I see it, so long as we can keep him well and painfree.... that's already much more than he would have had otherwise!

Anyhow, I just wanted to congratulate you on your courage and warmth with Wally. I am sure you will be a loving "parent" to another dog-in-need.

Take care,
Nihal

Ella'sMom · 01-10-2008, 06:21 PM

Oh you poor thing. I am so sorry for what you had to go through. Like someone else said here, at least Wally was loved before he died and he definitely knew that. I hope your next dog you open your heart to brings you many years of happiness and love.

Inga · 01-10-2008, 06:27 PM

I am so sorry to hear about that. I am thankful that your little wally had someone to love him for a week.

gizmobaby · 02-12-2008, 02:37 PM

I'm so sorry for your loss

Your story really touched me

sherbear59 · 02-18-2008, 11:02 PM

RIP Wally, We know how you feel, Pravo Sucks

Ilovemypit · 02-21-2008, 01:06 PM

I am so sorry about your puppy I know what you went through I got my puppy he was 8 weeks old i got him on my birthday september 22 an was so exited an then two days later he start sleeping not eating not drinking whater then he kept throwing up an had blood in his stole anyways I thought its cause We had changed his food from what the breeder gave him. Well the next day when he went to the vet to gte his shots they did a parvo test on him an it came back positive an then they told me he would probably die an i started crying. Even though I only had him for 3 days i was so upset he was like my baby. So they gave him meds an this A&d food. An I asked the nurse what A&D stood for an she said joking ALMOST DEAD. I was like thats so not funny an started crying again. Anways he got worse an worse an i ended up having to put him in the hospital an they called an said he has ripped the iv out i could take him home. They said he lost all his white blood cells which is bad cause they fight off the virus. He ended up getting white blood cells bad an getting through Parvo But he was on his death bed I thought he was going to die. An the breeders when i asked if i could have the 200 dollars back that we paid for him they said sure no problem.An i also told her she might want to get the rest of her liter check she said. I did there fine(i fine that hard to beleive) but anyways i called her the next day an they disconnected there phone an ive never heard from her since. Theres just some people in this world that want to make money off dogs an dont care about there well being its so sad. Im so sorry for your loss parvo is so horrible. Are you thinking about adopting another one?

ZensMom · 02-26-2008, 08:21 PM

"An I asked the nurse what A&D stood for an she said joking ALMOST DEAD"

That is horrible

I would take serious issue if a professional who worked at a vet's office said something to me, especially if my pet was just diagnosed with parvo. Shame on her.

Original poster: I am so sorry to hear about Wally.