This is me with my first dog, a beagle named Willy.
He was really Willy II, a successor to another beagle with the same name who used to babysit me.
I think I’m about four years old in that photo. I still had blond hair.
Poor Willy II didn’t last long.
He was purchased from a beagle breeder who didn’t vaccinate his puppies.
Another puppy from the same litter had contracted parvovirus and was dead by the time I met Willy II.
In those days, parvovirus was not as easily treated, and poor Willy II was euthanized about ten days after he came to live with me.
Vaccinate your puppies.
Please.
The risks are too high.
Wonderful photo of boy and his dog. Likewise, great words of wisdom as Parvo can even attack older vaccinated dogs. It might take a little longer to expose.
Collie Nationals Missouri many years ago when Parvo first broke out in the canine world.: Perfectly healthy dogs came into the ring, and suddently needed to be carried out. Folks then did not know that Parvo could transfer in clothing and their shoes and could be carried home to other dogs. Some kennels lost entire breeding animals. Now some people need to learn vaccinations shed.
I’m sorry for your loss – your message is so important and it’s one I try to make customers aware of – pet care, regular trips to the vet and vaccinations are so, so important.
Awww, what a sad story
Yes. Thank you. I lived most of my life in an area where parvo is pretty rare because the vaccination rate is high. Then I moved to Eastern Oregon (where it’s more rural and more impoverished) and it’s EVERYWHERE.
If we get a call at the clinic that someone’s puppy has diarrhea, or vomiting, or lethargy, or just didn’t have an appetite that morning, default assumption is parvo. Those symptoms are vague and could be any number of diseases, but we see parvo so often we don’t take a chance. When they come in, we usher them straight into a exam room before asking any other questions (so that they’re less likely. Oldest dog with parvo I’ve seen was 7 years old (never vaccinated); the one that died fastest was a 12 week old Jack Russel that died 36 hours after first showing symptoms, and that was WITH hospitalization, IV fluids, the works.
And at least once a month I talk to a client who didn’t even know they make vaccinations for dogs.
Luckily, though, I don’t often meet a client who is anti-vaccine. I’m not sure I could keep my cool.
It just takes one puppy lost to one of those diseases to teach you that lesson.
So cute – poor pup. In 1984 or so, our puppy had parvo, luckily he survived and lived to be 16. I used to work at an ER vet, and parvo is unfortunately very common here. Sometimes we would have 2 or 3 puppies in the isolation room at the same time, especially during the warm months (probably because more people get puppies in the summer, and take them more places).
Not just little puppies, either – one was a pit bull about a year old.