Dog owners are being urged to get their pets vaccinated after a puppy nearly died from a highly infectious virus. Doberman pup Blue spent seven days receiving treatment in isolation.
As well as being sick, Blue lost his appetite and started passing blood. After being rushed to the vets, his owners were warned he may not survive as he battled the potentially deadly parvovirus.
Fortunately, he managed to pull through. And as reported by the Manchester Evening News, relieved owner, Danielle Hargreaves, and Armac Vets in Bury who treated him, are now urging people to protect their pets from the virus by getting their vaccinations and booster jabs.
Blue started vomiting when he was ten weeks old, just before he was due to have his second vaccination. Neither Blue or Danielle's other puppy had been outside except in the family’s garden in Rochdale, and both had had their first vaccination.
The poorly pup received round-the-clock care at Armac Vets’ veterinary hospital. He was given anti-sickness medicines, antibiotics, pain relief, fluids and food through feeding tubes, and blood transfusions.
Danielle, from Rochdale, said: “They couldn’t give me a prognosis. That was hard. I know with parvo they can throw all the treatment at it and some dogs survive, and some don’t.
"The vets were really good and gave me regular updates. I could tell they really cared and wanted to get him better.
“On the Thursday night they told me he had deteriorated a lot. They asked if I wanted them to resuscitate him if he went into cardiac arrest. That shocked me.
"I wasn’t allowed to see him until that night because I have another puppy at home and parvo is so infectious. They spoke about me seeing him to say goodbye.
"The following morning, he started to pick up. I don’t know whether he had heard!
"He was in hospital for about a week. During that time, I also had the worry about his brother, Thor, because the vet said he would already have been exposed to it.
"I could have lost them both. It was an emotional rollercoaster.”
Parvo is shared in dogs’ faeces. Unvaccinated dogs can spread the disease or owners can bring the virus into the home on their shoes and puppies are most at risk between eight and 16 weeks and, if untreated, they usually do not survive.
They are usually given two vaccinations, between two and four weeks apart. Armac Vets recommends a third parvo vaccine at 16 weeks, because of the number of parvo cases in the community.
Vet Hannah Darke, who was part of the team that cared for Blue, said: “He was really poorly. His blood pressure was up and down, and he was very sleepy.
"As we were rehydrating him, the parvovirus was dehydrating him at the same time. His temperature was quite low throughout his stay.
"His body was shutting down, so he was really critical. He deteriorated a lot. We did another blood test, and his protein was getting lower.
"We had to get in touch with the Pet Blood Bank and order two units of blood. He had multiple transfusions over the next 24 hours. This is how it is with parvo; they can start to improve and then suddenly go downhill, especially puppies."
