Parvo Virus

[Guest Anonymous]

My boyfriend, Mike, and I purchased a purebred black lab puppy (McKay) this past Saturday and brought her home on Sunday. Shortly after getting to Mike's house with the puppy, my Mom called me to tell me that a woman who I met in Shake a Paw the day prior, Karen, had left us a message telling us that her yellow lab that she bought on Saturday had spent the night in the animal hospital and was tested and confirmed to have parvovirus and pneumonia. Karen had spoken to the manager at Shakeapaw at 11:00 Sunday morning, an hour and a half PRIOR to my taking McKay home.
We called our vet to find out about parvo and what to watch for and after she had diarriah later that night, we rushed to the animal hospital. Our puppy has been there for two days and her tests came back positive for parvo as well. We got her to the doctor very early in the disease so we are praying that she come out okay.
The most troubling thing is that although the owner has signed something saying that he will pay up to $1300 towards vet bills (Mike went and saw him today), I know for certain that the shop was aware of Karen's sick puppy BEFORE I went and picked mine up on Sunday. I specifically asked why she was being kept in the back (told that too many people wanted to pet her since she is so small and cute and they didn't want anyone to pet her since we had already bought her), why she was so lethargic (told one of her sister's may have kennel cough) and then my Mom noticed that they cleaned out the area where we played with her as soon as I was up at the counter and my Mother out in the car. I asked where the other two puppies were that I had seen the day prior, sharing the cage with McKay and was told that they were sold.
The owner told Mike today that there are two other lab puppies (McKay's sisters who she shared a cage with) that are in the back of the shop, being isolated since they probably have parvo as well. I am sure that those puppies are not being treated.
I am hoping that you will be able to give me some sort of direction as to where to take this story so that people in my area know about what is going on at the store. I am heartbroken that our puppy, only 2 months old, is having to fight such a deadly disease and appalled that the store knowingly sold me a puppy infected with a fatal illness.
I am going to visit McKay again today but am just so afraid that she is not going to pull through this illness. Any advice?

[alicat613]

I'm sorry, no advice. This is a sad truth of why you never ever buy a puppy from a pet shop. I hope your pup pulls through. What sort of contact did you have with the puppy, and the puppy at one point was at home, correct?

Parvo is VERY contagious. I would discuss with your vet how to treat your home and yard. Not just for your puppy (I think when she is done she can't catch it again?? I am not sure on that), but for other dogs in your neighborhood, dogs that visit, etc. I know people who moved into a house and got a puppy and that puppy died because previous owners had parvo there and not disenfected.

Best wishes,
Ali

[courtnek]

ARamsey....

I am sorry about your pup. I hope he pulls through ok. Parvo is nasty and highly contagious, like Ali said.

Becasue the people running this pet shop/kennel apparently knew there
was an illness issue, and ignored it, there is one thing you could try, for the sake of the community.

Find out from the lady that bought the yellow lab if she will co-operate with this, and then take your story to the bigget newspaper near where you live.

If they print the story, it will both warn the people in the area about this
shopowner, and also, possibly the SPCA or the health authorities may get involved.

Before you think "this lady is mean...." think about what would happen if
parvo gets spread through the animal population in your area. This shopowner should not be handling animals...he is not caring for them properly and he is selling infected dogs!!!

Besides the suffering McKay is going through, your vet bill could end up exceeding the 1300.00's that the owner "promised". That's just a way to get you to not sue.Shows "good faith"...The paper will not charge you anything to run the story, which a lawyer will to sue. I would definitely report this shop to the local animal control agencies as well.

Good luck! and I hope McKay has a full recovery!!

[Poofy]

I hate to even bring this up...but if you puppy does not make it...please DO NOT bring another puppy into your home. Parvovirus can live in the ground and the flooring and walls of your home for YEARS. Bringing in another puppy will almost guarantee a repeat performance. Its sad I know. But you will have to consider an older already vaccinated animal. This is a terrible thing to bring up I know...but its something you need to be aware of. You will also be able to spread parvo to other puppies and or dogs because you will be carrying it on your clothes and such...so think of these things before you pet some one's young puppy.

I am sorry this has happened to you. I wish some one had been able to warn you of pet stores before you bought from one.

[Guest Anonymous]

Thank you all for your advice.
We only had McKay home for about 8 hours before bringing her to the animal hospital so she was in the house pretty much the whole time. She did pee outside once on the patio but we can bleach that down easily. We have bleached all of her toys, blanket, bed, cage and the carpet so that we can protect any other dogs. I know that the disease can be passed by other people having it on their clothes or shoes as well. Our vets are just amazing and have given us the lowdown on protecting both McKay and other dogs.
I think that the newspaper story is a fabulous idea. I plan on calling today, especially since I know that there are two puppies that they have in the back room being "isolated" but I don't think that they are being treated at all and they have parvo too, I'm certain.
Again, that you for all of your advice and kind thoughts for McKay!

[Crested]

I am SO sorry for McKay! I hope she pulls through! I'll pray for her tonight before I go to bed!
I hate to bring this up, but the fact that someone buys a pup from a petshop makes me really mad! :evil: Do you know why? Because every single puppy that is in a petshop is from a puppymill. No responsible breeder would EVER sell their puppies to a petshop! They might be cute, cuddly and extremely adorable. You might feel bad for them, but don't EVER buy a puppy from a petshop, because if you do, you support puppymills and backyard breeders.
There is a lot of info about puppymills, backyard breeders etc. on the net and it's really NOT pretty!
I think it's so... DUMB that because of selfish people that only want to make money thousands if not millions of puppies and dogs will suffer! Evem their owners!
I once read this heart brakeing novel about a rottweiler that came from a puppymill. It only lived a couple weeks and sufferd her entire life!
I am REALLY sorry for McKay, but I hope that if you the next time buy a puppy, then buy it from a responsible breeder. And not just the first breeder you encounter, but search around and take a puppy from the absolutely best. The puppies in petshops might be cheaper, but their length and quality of life will be much worse then a puppy's that has been bought from a responsible breeder. That breeder will also help you during your dogs entire life when ever you need it. If your dog won't eat, if he or she has been having diharrea, or if you just have something on your mind, a responsible breeder will help and advice you.
You should allso be prepared that McKay might have other problems besides parvo. It's just a fact that is way too often when it comes to dogs from petshops and puppymills.
I hope this helped you atleast a bit.

Love: Crest

[Guest Anonymous]

I understand what you are saying about buying from a petstore. We have never had a dog before and were both ignorant about the whole situation, unfortunately.
The store told us that she was from a breeder and that her father is a Champion, all this stuff that made it sound legit. They gave us all kinds of paperwork saying that she is pedigree, AKC certified, her family tree, all kinds of stuff. We just didn't know better.
Although we are now better aware of the whole situation, we are focusing our attention on trying to help McKay to get better.
I just wish that we had the information prior to looking into getting a puppy.

[alicat613]

Unfortunately many people learn like you have had to. :(
We didn't know either. Our first dog came from a backyard breeder. She was nice and loved her dogs, and we didn't know any better. We really lucked out - the other 6 pups ended up having behavioral problems and serious health diseases and all died young. Ours lived to be 17 and was a wonderful dog. But too many people have experiences like yours with disreputable breeders, and it really does hurt the breed and dogs as a whole. I'm sorry you had to learn about pet store puppies this way, but maybe your story can help others too.

Best wishes,
Ali

PS, I don't know if this is a weird question, but could I cross post this on another dog board? I think a lot of people don't see the heartbreak that can come from buying a petstore puppy.

[Kiger]

There's a nasty puppy broker here that takes their parvo infected puppies back for "veterinary treatment" and just lets them die in the back room. Treatment affects their overhead, and hey, there's a new load coming in next week. They will just replace the old and busted puppy with another one.

[Guest Anonymous]

Please do post this wherever you think it would help other potential owners. I am in the process of writing to all of our local tv stations, newspapers and radio stations because I want to get the other two puppies that are still in the store (and are McKay's sisters that were exposed to the parvo) treatment. These people just make me sick! The vet said that McKay is doing better today and my boyfriend just got back from visiting her - said that she's much more active today. I'm heading down in about an hour to see her. It's amazing how fast you can fall in love!

[Crested]

I'm so glad McKay is doing a bit better! The sad thing about parvo is that it's really tough on young pups and older dogs. An adult, healthy dog has a hard time with it, but gets through it a lot faster and better then a pup. I don't want to be mean or pessimistic. It's just that I hope you understand that it is going to be VERY tough on McKay. There are too many dogs that die because of parvo. I really, REALLY hope McKay will become better! She needs a lot of attention, support and love right now.
And I really hope thoose two other pups get treatment.

I'm getting another Crested this spring and I had some difficulties finding a breeder that matches my high standards. I practicly bought Ben by just calling a couple times. I didn't know what kind of risks I made. Luckilly Ben is ok and is the best dog in the world, but it could have ended up really bad. I was lucky! Then my standards were low. My main goal was to get a puppy and that was it. Now when I have been reading articles about theese things and chatted with people I understand how sick the world actually is. Can you believe it that some breeders sell puppies as HYPO ALLERGIC to allergic and asthmatic people!?!? (Hypo allergic = ALLERGY FREE!! DOES NOT CAUSE ANY ALLERGIES ON ANYONE!!) And do you know what they excuse it with? "Oh, they are hypo allergic because they DON'T SHED (!!!!)." :o Everyone should know that:
EVEN THOUGH A DOG DOESN'T SHED, IT DOES NOT MEAN THAT IT DOESN'T PRODUCE SALIVA, POOP, URINATE OR HAVE DANDER!!!!! (Dander = dead skin cells. EVEN PEOPLE HAVE DANDER!!!! How in the world can someone say that dogs DON'T have dander when even PEOPLE have dander?!?) AAARGH! I can get SO mad!! :evil:
You know what is the ONLY hypo allergic dog? A dog that is DEAD!! So if you want a hypo allergic dog then get a DEAD DOG!!! :evil:

Sorry about this. :oops: This just makes me absolutely mad! People can be such big a** ho**s!

Aramsey: Go to http://www.nopuppymills.com There is LOADS of information about diffirent degrees of puppymillers and about petshops. Luckilly there are people fighting this! Unfortunately there aren't that many of them. There are more puppymillers. :cry:

/Crest

[gooeydog]

It would also be a good idea to look into the "puppy lemon laws" in your state, as well as other rules and regulations that breeders/brokers/retailers are supposed to follow. I know that most states have a law where puppies can't be sold until they are "x" months old (I think it's 8, but it may vary with where you are). They may be in violation of this or other reg's, and I think that if they are, that's another thing the media should know about :wink:

[courtnek]

Crested, youre right on the money.

ALL animals have some form of dander, and it's the dander that people are
allergic to, not the fur. So whether it sheds or not is irrelevant to allergies.

The only possible link is that in a long haired dog, the dander tends to stick to the hair. But if not in the hair, it's on the floor, the walls, the ventilation system. Like you said, doesnt really matter.

:D

[Crested]

courtnek: FINALLY someone who understands!! :lol:

The most idiotic things I've EVER heard is AFTER I have explained that: "But... but... They don't shed!!" or, "But you can't see the dander.". It makes me mad when people think that you have to SEE the dander for it to be there! If you don't see it, well, I guess there isn't any dander around then.... :evil:

*sigh* When do people learn?

/Crest