PARVO (and the importance of a good vet)

[M Evertsen]

Well, I had a bad deal here this week.

I have a pup that was born October 23, 2011. All shots had been administered by the same vet, and all serial numbers and expiration dates were verified. The maker of the vaccine was Merial. She had 4 series of shots.

On this past Sunday, Sugar was her normal self, eating well, and being very playful. Monday she did not eat anything, and appeared to be Lethargic. Tuesday, again not eating, and there was vomit and diahreah in the kennel which I was not certain was hers (she shares a kennel with a 3 yo female). Tuesday afternoon, I removed the other dog, filled the water bucket, and left some canned food for Sugar to eat. I left and went hunting at 10 pm Tuesday, returning at 10 am Wednesday. She had drank maybe 2 cups of water, and no food was eaten.

At about 2 pm yesterday I took her to the vet. Prior to leaving the house, she did drink some water, but threw it up on the way there. She was very tired, weak, stumbling, lethargic, and had no interest in food.

When we arrived at the vet's office, the tech took her temperature, which was normal, and took a parvo test just to be sure. The swab came out bloody. The vet walked in and we were discussing the situation, and he did not think that it could be Parvo, with her history of shots. About that time, the tech walked in and said "positive." Our jaws about hit the floor simultaneously.

The vet then told me to call the vaccine company, as Merial has a guarentee on their vaccine, and treatment was started immediately. As far as I know, she is still alive, as I have not heard anything further with the vet.

I did call Merial, and the vet tech also called and spoke with their rep. I checked this morning, and the cases were combined, and the Merial vet was waiting to speak with my vet to verify her records, but it sounds like Merial will be picking up the tab on tihs one.

Just a warning to everyone. Be sure to get all your pups the vaccines they need, and spend the extra to go to a vet for all the series so that everything can be verified easier. It may just save some extra cost in the long run.

My vet also said that he is seeing a lot of Parvo cases this winter, which is rare, as Parvo is normally a warmer weather virus, so he was quite surprised with her getting it.

FYI - this Northeastern NV.