The Pet Tree House - Where Pets Are Family Too : Parvo The Pet Tree House - Where Pets Are Family Too : Parvo
Showing posts with label Parvo. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Parvo. Show all posts

Wednesday, February 10, 2016

Want a Pet? Living on a Budget? Tips on How You Can Do it…Without Burning a Hole in Your Pockets


There are few things cuter than a puppy or kitten, but for those seeking a new pet without giving an arm and a leg might want to consider adopting from a shelter.

Read on for some tips on how to welcome a four-legged friend into your home without burning a hole in your pockets.

Q: How can I save on food, toys and supplies?

Buying pet food in bulk is a good way to save over time, but you'll want to make sure you're buying quality.

"Food isn't an area you want to skimp on," Scott Giacoppo of the Washington Humane Society said. "I wouldn't recommend buying the cheapest food the same way I wouldn't recommend someone to serve Oreos at their Sunday dinner."

Giacoppo said your vet or employees at pet supply stores like Pro Feed, Petco or PetSmart should be able to recommend food and other supplies for your pet.

Also, remember that you don't need to buy everything for your pet all at once. You might be able to start out with just bowls, food, a collar and a few toys, and then learn more about your pet to determine what else he or she needs. Of course, a dog will need a leash, and a cat will need a litter box, but you don't need to spring for top-of-the-line models.

Sign up for deals websites such as Groupon, which often have deals on pet supplies and services -- just make sure you actually need the item; otherwise, you won't be saving money at all.

Also, search pet retailer websites for coupons or special discounts. For instance, Petco.com offers 20 percent off for signing up to receive emails, and free shipping for orders of $49 or more.

Learn how to perform basic pet grooming skills yourself, such as nail clipping, to save on grooming fees. If you're able to, bathe your dog yourself in your bathtub or outside in the yard. If you can't, consider visiting a DIY dog-washing business, where you can use their shampoos and professional-grade tubs for about $20 -- still cheaper than paying for professional grooming.

Q: What are some preventative tactics I can take to avoid mishaps and large vet bills?

One way to cut costs before you ever see the vet is to adopt from a shelter, because "when you adopt, the animals are sterilized, they're up to date on vaccinations and they've been house trained," Giacoppo said.

If you buy a puppy or kitten from a breeder, you'll pay for these costs out of pocket. Sure, they're cute, but they can end up much pricier in the long run than adopting an older dog -- and by adopting from a shelter, you'll actually be saving two lives, not one (here's why).

The Washington Humane Society also provides one year of pet health insurance and low-cost spaying and neutering if your new buddy hasn't been altered already ($130 for dogs, $80 for cats).

Make sure to "pet-proof" your home so that any hazards or harmless substances are kept out of your new pet's reach. And remember that what's safe for humans might not be safe for dogs or cats. (See the Pet Poison Hotline's list here.) 

Q: Which breeds of dogs/cats tend to be cheaper to care for?

Generally, smaller ones. The cost of care for cats and dogs doesn't vary much based on breed (unless you have a breed that requires extensive professional grooming), but smaller animals simply tend to consume less food than larger animals. Same goes for items like toys, treats and beds -- larger ones usually cost more.

However, the best way to reduce costs is to take care of your pet well, both physically and psychologically. Giacoppo says Parvo, for example, is a life-threatening disease that can cost thousands of dollars to treat, but can be avoided for a small price.

"Take a Saturday once a year, wait in line for an hour and pay $10 for a shot that can save your pet's life," he said. The Washington Humane Society offers low-cost vaccinations Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.

Also, be sure that your pet has a social life and gets plenty of exercise. Leaving pets tied up or left alone leads to psychological problems and boredom, which can cause behavioral problems, damage to your home or property, and ultimately physical problems that need treatment.

Q: Where can I find affordable pet insurance (and is it worth it)?

Pet insurance can be tricky because there are a few different kinds, and it's not necessarily about what injuries or illnesses your pet could endure, as dog owner Sarah Kliff noted in a recent Vox article. Kliff pays $40 to $50 a month for pet insurance and says the real question is actualll "How much are you willing to pay to spend to save your pet’s life?"

For her, it would be a lot. "If I got a very large bill, I would likely pay it," Kliff wrote. "I would pay bills big enough to make it difficult for me to put a down payment on a house."

To sum it up, you might pay a premium for pet insurance that you never use to make a claim. But a few $400 trips to the vet or an unfortunate $3,000 surgery to remove your pet's favorite toy from its stomach could eventually surpass the price you paid for the insurance. Kliff also points out that many people pay renters' insurance and never file a claim, but the peace of mind can be worth it.

The website PolicyGenius advises people on which types of insurance they should buy, advising some pet owners not to invest in insurance at all.

Kliff writes that Jennifer Fitzgerald, the co-founder of the site, said the right consumer for pet insurance has "low ability to pay (to save their pet's life) but high willingness," so it's not for everyone.

Alternative options include pet wellness plans. For instance, PetSmart's Banfield Pet Hospital chain offers a wellness plan with a focus on prevention and early diagnosis, with potentially lower costs than traditional pet care services. Plans include a set number of wellness visits per year, may cover the cost of shots and offer discounts on other forms of care.

Q: If I need to travel, should I take my pet, hire a sitter or board at a kennel?

It depends. The cost of a travel crate can range from $30 to $100, and overnight care can be costly, too. Your best bet: Find friends or family member willing to do watch your pets. Or, get to know a pet-owning neighbor and offer to trade pet care: You'll watch their dog or cat for a weekend if they'll do the same for you another weekend.

If you're thinking of boarding your pet, check business reviews on a site such as Yelp. If you find several well-reviewed spots, call around to get the best rate. And don't be afraid to ask about any special deals: Will they give you a discount if you pick up your pet before a certain time, for example?

If you hire someone to watch your pet at home, beware of an apparent "bargain." Giacoppo said it's best to use a referral.

"You don't wanna hire someone who says they will just come over for five dollars," he said. "You have no idea how they will treat your pet."


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Monday, October 27, 2014

6 Common Illnesses to Watch for in Puppies


Your puppy is brand new and you want to protect him. The best thing you can do is to feed him a healthy, balanced diet, says Dr. Jim Dobies, a veterinarian with South Point pet hospital in Charlotte, N.C., and a member of the North Carolina Veterinary Medical Association.

To read more on this story, click here: 6 Common Illnesses to Watch for in Puppies

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Sunday, September 14, 2014

Two Pet Stores Have Decided to Stop Buying Dogs from Commercial Breeders and Opted for Rescue Dogs from Shelters


On Christmas, while his 3-year-old daughter opened her presents, pet-shop owner Michael Gill was in his bathroom cradling an English bulldog mix puppy suffering from a lethal canine virus.

The dog had contracted parvo, a deadly and highly contagious intestinal disease. Six puppies in his store that died, along with seven that became sick, were delivered by a Missouri-based dog distributor, he said.

"It was the single worst experience I've had with animals in 20 years," said Gill, owner of We Love Pets in Media.

In February, Gill decided to stop buying dogs from commercial breeders and opted for rescue dogs from shelters, a trend the Humane Society of the United States (HSUS) said was catching on.

The Missouri distributor says industry critics are uninformed.

Commercial pet stores often buy puppies from dog brokers or distributors, the middlemen between breeders and the retailers. Animal advocates say some of those breeders are puppy mills that raise the dogs in poor conditions.

The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals (ASPCA) estimates that there are about 10,000 puppy mills in the country. Of those, 20 percent to 30 percent are U.S. Department of Agriculture-licensed breeders licensed to sell to stores.

Missouri is a national leader in puppy mills, along with Arkansas, Iowa, Kansas, Nebraska, Oklahoma, and South Dakota. More than two million dogs from puppy mills are sold each year, according to the humane society.

"It's been a bumpy ride," said Gill of the change in his business model, which also has required renovations at his Media and Springfield stores to accommodate the more mature and larger rescue dogs. "It's much more rewarding. We don't feel comfortable selling [brokered] puppies."

Gill's two locations are not the only area pet stores to make the change.

The owners of the 10 area PetsPlus stores, Mark Arcadia and Bruce Smith, made a similar decision. Two of their locations - in Jenkintown and on Roosevelt Boulevard in Philadelphia - are adopting rescue dogs. The other eight expect to convert by the end of the year.

"It is definitely a trend," said Kathleen Summers, the humane society's Director of Outreach and Research.

Two factors driving the change are consumer concerns over puppy mills and complaints about sick dogs purchased from pet stores, Summers said.

New local regulations are also pushing the conversion.

Citing concerns about puppy mills, governments in more than 50 places across the county have passed ordinances that ban the sale of commercially raised puppies in pet stores, Summers said.

The list includes Albuquerque, N.M.; Austin, Texas; Chicago; El Paso, Texas; Toledo, Ohio; San Diego; Los Angeles; and the state of Florida. In New Jersey, Brick, Manasquan, Point Pleasant, Point Pleasant Beach, and North Brunswick have banned sale of commercially raised puppies.

Michael Stokley, Director of Corporate Sales for Hunte Corp. in Goodman, Mo., one of the largest distributors of commercial puppies in North America, said lawmakers were uninformed on the issue. He said allegations against commercial distribution of puppies were driven by activists with an agenda.

"We have a totally regulated industry top to bottom," he said. "Yet arbitrarily, people are shutting down taxpaying, regulated businesses within their community."

We Love Pets and PetsPlus alleged that they purchased sick puppies from Hunte.

Stokley said that he was familiar with Gill's complaints, but that the store's "records did not support his allegations." The company meets all federal, state, and local regulations, he said.

The USDA inspection reports from 2011 to January 2014 showed Hunte to be in compliance.

Smith said PetsPlus did business with Hunte for 10 years but dropped it a year ago. He said Hunte had delivered puppies with colds and pneumonia.

Smith said the two PetsPlus stores now draw puppies from a shelter in Bowling Green, Ky., and were contacting with local shelters for adoptions.

"We like saving lives," he said.

PetsPlus still is listed in Hunte's database, although Stokley said he did not know when Hunte had last shipped puppies to the stores.

"If that is the decision they made, that is a business decision," he said.

Gill now works with one of the activists who picketed his store almost every weekend for 21/2 years.

Patricia Biswanger, now board president of the Chester County SPCA, said she did not hesitate when Gill offered the SPCA space for shelter dogs and other animals.

"It is all about saving animals," she said. "I'm delighted to be working with him."


Michael Gill of We Love Pets in Media and Springfield, with employee Gina Zwucky, calls the switch from commercially bred dogs to rescue animals "a bumpy ride," but "much more rewarding." (Clem Murray/ Staff Photographer)



Josh Salyer, manager of the PetsPlus store in Jenkintown, gets an appreciative lick from Macy. PetsPlus plans to convert its 10 stores in Pennsylvania and New Jersey from using dog brokers to drawing from shelters as sources. (Michael Bryant / Staff Photographer)







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Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Canine Parvovirus, A Highly Contagious Viral Disease that Can Produce a Life-Threatening Illness Usually Spread from Dog to Dog by Direct Contact


"Parvo" is a word most puppy owners learn, and learn to dread. It's short for canine parvovirus, the most common infectious dog disease in the U.S.

Even though it's a relatively new disease in the dog world, parvo's ubiquitous--present at significant levels in every environment, from home to kennel to park. In fact, trying to shield a puppy from exposure is considered completely futile in this day and age. It's a ridiculously tough virus that can survive for months on living things, and even on objects such as furniture, toys, and carpets.

It's a serious infection, too: it can kill in a matter of days, and it's 80 percent fatal. Puppies less than six months old and older dogs are the most vulnerable. Luckily, a simple vaccine is all it takes to prevent this horrible disease.

Causes
Parvo is actually a family of viruses. Many mammals have some version of it, including humans, though fortunately parvo doesn't pass from species to species--each type of animal gets its own special version. It was first isolated back in the 1960s, but a mutant form called CPV-2 appeared virtually overnight in 1978. Then a mutation of that showed up in 1979, causing a true health crisis in the canine world--an epidemic that killed thousands of pets and triggered a vaccine shortage.

Today that virus has been supplanted by a version called CPV-2b, but because of vaccination for puppies and tight health controls, there are very few cases of adult parvo; it's considered a "puppy disease." Still, it's very serious: dogs catch parvo and die from it every year. (There's some talk of other strains beginning to emerge, but they've yet to be formally identified.)

The virus itself is deceptively simple: just a single strand of DNA, without the usual sheath of fat to protect it. This, ironically, makes it harder to kill with standard disinfectants and allows it to survive outside a host body for as long as five months.

Parvo is usually spread from dog to dog by direct contact (in parks, dog shows, kennels, pet shops, and the like) or by contact with infected feces. People can contribute to the spread of the disease by tracking fecal matter on their shoes. Since the virus can survive a wide range of temperatures and live outside the animal for months, it's extremely tough to eradicate. That's why vaccination is so important.

Symptoms
It's possible for adult dogs to have a mild form of parvo and show no symptoms at all. In its acute phase, however, symptoms include:

  • loss of appetite
  • depression
  • fever
  • massive dehydration
  • lethargy
  • bloody diarrhea
  • severe, repeated vomiting

When it's time to see a vet
The disease can kill a dog quite quickly (sometimes in a matter of days), and it may leave surviving animals with intestinal and heart damage. So if you see symptoms or even suspect parvo, get to your vet immediately. The only way to know if a dog has parvovirus is through a diagnostic test.

However, the best time to see the vet about parvo is when you get your puppy vaccinated. That's the best thing you can do to prevent this killer of puppies from ever entering your life.

When your puppy's most vulnerable
The timing of protecting your puppy can be a little tricky. The mild and temporary immunities that the mother passes on to her pups actually interfere with the vaccine's effectiveness--but exactly when those maternal antibodies fade varies from dog to dog, depending on factors such as nutrition, medical history, and even breed. It's that window of vulnerability--the time after the mother's immunity has faded, and before the vaccine has kicked in--when puppies catch this ever-present virus.

That's why puppy vaccines have to come in at least two stages, and why it's vitally important that you don't skip that second visit to the vet. It's also important to not let your dog walk on the ground where infected dogs may have been until the vaccine has fully kicked in--ask your vet when it's safe to take your pup out and about.

What's next
Treatment generally means a lengthy and expensive hospital stay, with at least five to seven days in intensive care, rehydration through an IV, lots of antibiotics, and medications to control nausea. Even then the prognosis isn't good. Many severely infected animals die, even with the best available care. Without the correct amount of properly balanced intravenous fluids, their chance of recovery is very small. Beating parvo is a difficult challenge, even for the toughest of puppies.

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Wednesday, July 9, 2014

Fundraiser to Save Sick Pit Bull Was Derailed by Fake Online Donations - Fraudulent Donations Have Been Removed and Account is Now Being Monitored



Felines & Canines, a no-kill animal shelter based in Chicago, decided to take in Sheba, a 3-year-old pit bull from a local intake facility, they thought the sick dog had a mild case of kennel cough. But after examination, the shelter discovered that Sheba was stricken with the potentially deadly virus Parvo.

The dog was given a blood transfusion and monitored closely by a veterinary technician at the Animal Care Center of Chicago. But with some complications, Sheba's medical care quickly became too extensive for Felines & Canines to afford on their own. So the shelter started a GoFundMe campaign to try to raise money to help cover the costs.

And according to a report from NBC Chicago, the money began to pour in. But many of the donations-some of $550 or more-turned out to be fraudulent. Scammers who were testing out stolen credit cards on the crowdfunding site likely caused the phony donations.

The shelter was immediately disheartened and worried that donors would lose faith in the validity of the fundraising effort.

GoFundMe said in a statement that they caught the fraudulent donations early and were able to remove them from the campaign. The website team has also promised to monitor the campaign closely to make sure scammers do not keep inflating the total.

Sheba remains in critical care at the Animal Care Center of Chicago, but an update on the campaign website explains that is making baby steps towards recovery. The team is taking it "hour-by-hour and day-by-day." Any donations received that exceed the cost of Sheba's medical care will go directly to helping other animals in need.

Currently the donations on Sheba's GoFundMe page are just shy of $16,000-a huge excess of the original $1,500 that was asked for by the shelter. Hopefully all of those donations are real and this amazing pit bull gets the highest quality medical care.




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