A VET is warning pet owners to have their dogs vaccinated against parvovirus after a puppy was in a fatal condition.
A veterinary hospital in Lanarkshire helped bring six-week-old Jack Russel-cross-Beagle Reggie, back to good health after suffering from the deadly disease.
Clyde Veterinary Hospital is now urging dog owners to have their dogs vaccinated to prevent their loved pets from suffering like Reggie.
Reggie when he was receiving treatment at the veterinary hospital
The vets who treated Reggie feared he would not survive due to how ill he was, but thankfully they managed to get better and make a tremendous recovery.
Unvaccinated dogs and young puppies are at most risk of parvovirus, signs of the illness include foul-smelling diarrhoea containing blood, sickness, loss of appetite, collapse, depression, fever and in extreme cases – death.
Fabienne Giraud, the vet from Clyde Veterinary Hospital, cared for Reggie round the clock, she said that the puppy was lucky his owners Reece Dodds and Gillian Deeney got him to hospital in a hurry.
Fabienne said: “Sadly, there are no drugs to treat parvovirus, so to make sure Reggie had the best chance of survival we gave him round-the-clock supportive care.
“He was hand-fed every hour using a syringe and given fluids intravenously because he was dangerously dehydrated due to the vomiting and diarrhoea. Parvovirus damages the dog’s digestive system, so Reggie needed antibiotics to reduce the risk of suffering from blood poisoning.”
a recovered Reggie being given a cuddle from Clyde Veterinary Hospital vet Fabienne Giraud.
Parvovirus is highly contagious, so Reggie had to be kept in isolation while the vet and nurses followed strict hygiene procedures when caring for him.
Reggie took to his treatment successfully and after eight days in the hospital, he was able to return home under continued support and care of his owners.
Fabienne added: “It was so rewarding when Reggie pulled through as the odds had really been against him. When he came into the practice for his second vaccine, I just had to have a cuddle – I couldn’t believe how much he’d grown!”
Mr Dodds, Reggie’s owner, praised the efforts of Fabienne and the staff at Clyde Veterinary Hospital: “I can’t thank Fabienne and the other vets and nurses enough for saving Reggie. The level of care they gave him was outstanding, and to go from being barely alive to how he is now is incredible.”
Clyde Veterinary Hospital urges anyone who is considering getting a dog to go to a reputable breeder or a rescue centre and to ensure a puppy has had its first parvovirus vaccination before taking them home.
