June Newsletter

     We had a great Memorial Day- bar BQ-home made ice-cream-burnt chicken-G Children who think it’s great fun pushing old Granddad off the end of the dock. Only one absent was My Marj who had to work. We missed her. Hope you had a good holiday too. Glad we still have this big empty house when they all come home.

     This is Parvo virus time of the year. I have seen six or seven cases so far and the prognosis has been uniformly bad. All of the cases have been in unvaccinated animals. Parvo is one of those viruses that is highly contagious and in unvaccinated, small dogs can be deadly..Sympoms begin as severe diarrhea with vomiting. This causes dehydration, shock, toximia, and death. Treatment is aggressive fluid replacement, antibiotics and prayer. This is a highly conagous disease and the virus is in the vomitus and diarrhea. All dogs in contact with the infected animal should be given a booster vaccination and isolated from the diseased animal and it’s premises. Aggressive disinfecting is advisable with a solution of one part chloral to twenty parts water. His is a very corrosive solution. After soaking food dishes they should be rinsed in clear water.

Young puppies should be isolated from other animals until after their final parvo vaccination at sixteen weeks of age. The pups start Parvo vaccinations at six weeks of age with boosters at nine, twelve and sixteen weeks. I have seen a few breaks in protection in young vaccinated animals so parvo vacation boosters are given every six months of age until the pet is four or five ears of age, then annual vaccinations should be adequate.   

     This is a mean, highly contagious disease.

P.S. Father’s day is this month. Show us a little appreciation.

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