Eight puppies from the Brant County SPCA who were infected with canine parvovirus are now on the mend after a tough few days.
The dogs were part of a litter of 12 the SPCA recently took in. Before knowing they had been exposed to the contagious virus, the dogs were dispersed across several foster homes.
“About a week later, I got a call from one of the foster homes saying one of the puppies seemed a little off. Its appetite wasn’t great and it had some loose stool,” Nadine Dwinnell, director of animal care at Brant County SPCA, said.
The puppy was seen by a vet the next day.
“The pup was alert and didn’t have a fever, so no one was too concerned,” she explained.
“Puppies are puppies and they get into things, so we were thinking that was probably what happened, or that it was because of a change in the diet when changing homes – something minor.”
The puppy got some medication and was sent home. But later that evening, more foster families started calling the SPCA saying their dogs were lethargic, vomiting and had diarrhea.
A few of them went to the emergency clinic. The first one that was tested was positive for parvovirus.
“It is one of the worst diseases to have to deal with in dogs. The mortality rate is extremely high. If they’re untreated, it’s over 90 per cent,” Dwinnell said.
“Even with treatment, only about 16 out of 20 will make it. So we knew we had to act quickly to try and save some of these pups.”
'ALL YOU CAN DO IS WORRY'
In total, nine of the 12 puppies ended up with symptoms.
Because parvovirus is extremely contagious, it became an all-hands-on-deck situation for the SPCA and nearby vet clinics to quarantine the dogs, and nurse them back to health.
“We sadly lost one of them that was just too weak to survive,” Dwinnell said.
One of the puppies, named Billie, had a more severe case than some others. He ended up with a feeding tube. His foster mother, Marlene Poag, called it was a “horrendous” experience.
“You can’t do anything for them. You’ve got to put them in medical care and all you can do is worry,” Poag said. “It was nerve wrecking and concerning because you love these little guys.”
Eventually, the puppies started to bounce back.
“The eight are recovering at different phases because it affects them all differently, but they’re well on their way to recovery now,” Dwinnell said.
Some, including Billie, are back at their foster homes.
“We didn’t think he’d really get better totally, but he’s just a ball of fuzz now, and he’s fun and eating,” Poag said.
Dwinnell said this litter of puppies was still too young to get vaccinated, but their case is serving as a reminder to all pet owners.
“It’s very important that people are mindful of this and that they get their animals vaccinated,” Dwinnell said.
The SPCA was faced with thousands of dollars in vet bills, but because of support from the community, the organization can keep its focus on the dogs.
“The bills are still coming in. We’re at just over $6,000 at this point, but we live in an amazing community with a lot of support so we put a plea out there to rally the community,” Dwinnell said.
“Last time I checked, we were at about $10,000 in donations.”
