1 Year Old Dies of Parvo - Page 1

I recently purchased a 1 year old female from a breeder in RI. I was given a handwritten history of 4 distemper/parvo shots done before 5 months of age. After being in my home for 3.5 weeks, the dog wakes me up at 3 AM having explosive diarrhea. She then vommited. In the morning, she went outside and urintated, had a drink of water but did not eat. She seemd ok...not as spunky as usual but showing no signs of distress. I had to go out so I put her in her kennel at 1pm. By the time I got home at 5PM, her kennel was full of bloody diarrhea (and I mean full!!), she was lethargic and going into shock (her gums were grey). I rushed her to the vet and she died while he was working on her. How is it possible for a 1 year old dog who supposedly had 4 sets of shots to die of parvo only 13 hours after showing any signs of illness??? (Parvo was confirmed through autopsy). The breeder swears up and down she gave her those shots and then boostered her again at 11 months when she decided to sell her (although this shot was not on the paperwork). Any input would be greatly appreciated. Sue

I am sorry for your loss. I do know it can happen. I had one puppy that had 4 shots, 2 that I did and 2 that the new owner did as a puppy. At 9 months old she came down with parvo, luckily she made it. But she had all her shots and still came down with it. That was the only dog in the 7 litters I've had ever come down with it either as a young puppy or older puppy.

Sue, I'm so sorry for the loss of your young dog. I hope you get back your money that you paid for.

Kharmahaus, you have my deepest sympathies for your loss. I have heard of vaccines not taking as they should, and have been very fortunate in these regards. Bob-O

I am sorry for your loss. A simular thing happened to someone else I know. Pup was given a parvo vaccine and then flown to new owner a week or so later. Pup arrived and within the week had parvo. Was your dog shipped to you? There are many instances where vaccines do not 'take'. In fact the reason I don't vaccinate for the most part is due to a parvo vaccine(s) that never took on one of my dogs.W( I titered her after the vaccines etc). The other thing to remember is NOT to vaccinate just after, during or just before any stressful situations/events. It takes up to a month (usually 2-3 wks) for vaccines to 'take'. During that time the body is at a very 'low' immunity wise and does not have immuntiy. Vaccines are NOT boosted. When you give a vaccine the body starts ALL over again to gain immunty to the new vaccine. So, a puppy can have immuntiy, then you boost it and now it does not until the body once again builds up antibodies. When you ship/stress out a pup/dog that has recently been vaccinated, you are taxing the system even more. Many/most dogs/pups do fine during this process. Some don't. Again, sorry to hear of your loss. Times like this are never easy.

I too am so sorry for your loss, and wish to shed what light I can. Working at the shelter we see this alot, We vaccinate a dog/pup and then if it adopts right away many times this dog/pup will "break" parvo. It is as Winnie says not good to "stress on top of" vaccinations. Even the Vet's agree, some people get right nasty with us here saying we did not care for the dogs good enough and so on, so that they can "lay blame" But the Vet's back us up with the stressing explanation. Again this does happen with older dogs too, typically around the 1yr. mark we notice it quite a bit, though I am not sure why. Sorry your suffering the loss you are but this is not a "Rare" case.

I am truly sorry for the loss of your dog. :( My condolences. Occasionally, known culprits of vaccinations not working as they should are: 1) vaccines have expired or 2) they were not kept refrigerated. Parvo is USUALLY a puppy disease. I would have to ask where the young dog might have contracted parvo? Even when my dogs are completely vaccinated, I tend to stay away from places where parvo could be a possibility. Again, I am so sorry for your loss. Brittany, if a dog contracts a highly contagious disease after being with a new owner, that does not mandate a refund. You need to think before you speak. If the breeder so chooses, they may offer a replacement pup, but the gestation period (incubation period) for parvo is shorter than 3.5 weeks (5-14 days, technically), so the dog acquired the parvo virus once with the new owner. It is very unfortunate that she got this, and even more sad that she died, but (if I am correct in my interpretation of the facts) the previous owner has shown proof of vaccinations. What more could they have done?

Such a loss can not be easy. I had talked to my vet about the increased cases of adult onset parvo, even after the immunizations were given, and he stated that there is a new strain of parvo that has made its way into the dog society. The immunizations dont have any effect on the new strain, and we will be seeing more cases like this apparently. And its quick acting like yours. One day fine, two days later gone...

This is terrible! I see two possible scenarios: 1: the dog didn't get the vaccines. 2: the strain of parvo the dog aquired was different from the strain in the vaccine given. Where do you live? Perhaps there is a new strain of parvo near you? Any word from the local vets about what they may be seeing? If this is a new strain, your almost adult dog will not be the only one to become ill. Other fully vaccinated dogs are at risk as well. My old vet would always use different brands of vaccine each time a dog was vaccinated. He liked to give different strains as a means of ensuring greatest immunity. My last order of vaccines were Fort Dodge, this time I ordered Vanguard. Not sure if this practice really makes a difference, but it's a concerted effort in the direction of safety. A third possibility I just thought of, perhaps the vaccine given with the previous owner was mishandled (ie: stored improperly, or outdated)? As routine practice, I do revaccinate dogs... just cause. I'm not fond of overvaccinating, but I'm especially not fond of sick and dying dogs either. If a breeder does their own shots, they should include the sticker from the vial the vaccine was drawn from. If the person you bought the dog from did this you can contact the company with serial & lot numbers and inquire if any problems are noted for this product. HUGS Sue-Ann

Oops... my window was open a bit prior to getting time to write. I didn't see the most recent posts prior to making mine. Sorry for restating good points already made.