Pennies For Parvovirus:

A Tribute To A Shelter’s Care

By Nancy K. Crevier

Trixie is a 4-month-old, 19-pound German shepherd mix puppy. She reaches her oversized puppy paws across the top of the baby gate, wriggling with excitement to greet a visitor. Her tummy is round, her coat is shiny, and her eyes glimmer mischievously. She can barely contain her excitement, to sit on the lap of 14-year-old Erica Bloomberg in the family’s living room, alternately licking Erica’s chin and gnawing at her own leash. Trixie is the epitome of a healthy puppy.

It is hard to imagine that less than two months ago, Donna and Jeff Bloomberg and their family, Erica and Mitchell, did not expect their new puppy to live. Trixie is a survivor of canine parvovirus, a usually fatal disease that has been practically eliminated from the general dog population through inoculation. It is because of Trixie’s trials, and the care and generosity of the North Shore Animal League America shelter of Port Washington, Long Island, and the affiliated Alex Lewyt Veterinary Medical Center, that Erica has started a fund to support the nonprofit organization dedicated to rescuing, caring for, and placing pets.

“North Shore Animal League did so much for us. They saved our puppy and didn’t charge us a penny. I thought, why not do something to help them bring other puppies to a healthy home?” said Erica.

Pennies For Parvo hopes to raise money through collection boxes placed at AquaDog Spa, 32 Stony Hill Road (Route 6), Bethel; Southbury Veterinary Hospital, 266 Main Street South (Route 6) in Southbury; and Lathrop School of Dance, in Edmond Town Hall at 45 Main Street, as well as through donations raised at the PenniesForParvo.com website.

For all of Erica’s life, the family’s Australian shepherd-mix dog, Pepper, had been a constant. Adopted from the North Shore Animal League America (NSALA) 16 years ago, when they were living in New York, Pepper died this past May. Prior to that, the family had owned a faithful cocker spaniel. Six dogless months later, the Bloombergs decided it was time to invite another canine into the family.

“We loved Pepper so much and he was such a good dog, we decided to go back to NSALA,” said Ms Bloomberg.

With Mitchell away at college, the puppy selection fell to Erica.

“I looked at a lot of the puppies, mostly the male puppies, because that is what we had owned before. Then I saw Trixie and I had to hold her,” she said. It was a good match, and Trixie, then just 8 weeks old and 6 pounds, returned to Sandy Hook with the Bloombergs on October 7. The puppy was fully inoculated, and the thought that she might be carrying a deadly disease never entered their minds, said Ms Bloomberg.

About Parvovirus

According to the Merck Veterinary Manual, canine parvovirus is a resistant virus transmitted by direct contact with infected dogs, or through indirect transmission, such as fecal contamination.

“The virus is shed in the feces of infected dogs for up to three weeks after infection. Recovered dogs may serve as carriers and shed the virus periodically… Viral shedding may begin on day three, before the onset of clinical signs.”

Two forms of canine parvovirus have been identified: myocarditis and gastroenteritis. Myocardial parvovirus is rarely seen in puppies anymore. But puppies between the ages of 6 and 20 weeks can fall victim to gastroenteritis during the time when maternal antibody protection drops off and vaccination is not yet fully protecting the puppy.

Canine parvovirus is a life-threatening disease. While many dogs survive with proper care, others die within hours of owners noticing symptoms. The Merck manual notes, “Mortality associated with canine parvovirus infection is variably reported to be 16 to 48 percent.”

Symptoms of the gastroenteritis form of canine parvovirus include sudden onset of “lethargy, anorexia, fever, vomiting, and diarrhea. The feces are loose and may contain mucus or blood.” Immediate veterinary care is necessary to prevent death.

The Bloombergs have been dog owners for more than 25 years, but the past two months threw information at them that they had never realized before, said Donna Bloomberg.

“We take really good care of our dogs, but we were still ignorant about parvovirus,” she said.

“We didn’t realize, and I’m sure a lot of people don’t, that there is this window for puppies when they can still pick up diseases, even if they have their shots. Or they can, like Trixie, already be infected when they are inoculated,” she said.

The first four days that Trixie was with them were typical puppy heaven.

“I was so attached to her already,” said Erica.

The fifth morning started out fine. But within an hour, recalled Ms Bloomberg, the puppy went from healthy to vomiting. “It came on like a hurricane. She had diarrhea, too, and wouldn’t even get up.”

A visit to Dr Joseph Ross in Southbury, the family veterinarian at Southbury Veterinary Hospital, was inconclusive, but he cautioned them that while it would be rare, they had to keep parvovirus in mind. He urged them to keep a close eye on the puppy.

Parvovirus was rampant in the late 1970s and early 1980s, said Dr Ross, when it first hit the Northeast.

“There was a severe outbreak then, and a lot of dogs were affected,” he said. Dr Ross has seen just two cases of canine parvovirus in the last year and a half, but both were instances in which the puppies had come from shelter situations. “Because a lot of puppies are being brought north from the kill shelters down south, the virus may be being reintroduced to this area,” he said. Puppies can harbor the virus without showing symptoms.

The important thing to do when adopting a puppy, he urged, is to bring the new family member to the local veterinarian and have fecal tests done.

“You want to catch parvovirus quickly, before it sets in. There was a lot of luck that the Bloombergs’ puppy was strong enough to survive this,” he said. Because parvovirus is so contagious, Dr Ross also recommended that any new puppy be isolated initially from any other dogs in the household, until they receive a clean bill of health — just in case the older dog’s immunizations are not up to date.

Unwavering Support

“I give great credit to the North Shore Animal League,” Dr Ross said, “that they stood by the treatment for this puppy. For what they did there, it would easily cost a private client $3,000 or more, and that’s a very conservative estimate,” he said.

At home, Ms Bloomberg, a nurse, read up on the disease and became convinced that the symptoms matched the rapidly weakening puppy. She called her former veterinarian in New York, for his input. He agreed that despite the puppy being inoculated, a shelter puppy always runs the risk of being exposed to parvovirus.

“But he said, ‘Don’t bring her here or to your vet. You have no idea what it will cost. Take her back to North Shore,’ so we called them,” said Ms Bloomberg. The estimated cost to clients for treating severe cases of parvovirus, her veterinarian had told her, was between $8,000 and $10,000.

“North Shore told us we could bring her back and they would try to treat her,” Erica said, “and they said there would be no bill.”

At her husband’s urging, Ms Bloomberg and Erica tucked Trixie into the car that afternoon and met him in Westchester, N.Y., as he headed back from work in New Jersey. From there, he and Erica took the lethargic puppy to Port Washington.

“It was almost 10 pm when we got there, and the staff waited for us,” said Erica. “I had been hoping, the whole ride, that the trip would be pointless and they would send Trixie back home with us.”

But Trixie stayed, and a few days later, with her white blood count down to 300 from a normal 10,000–14,000, the puppy was diagnosed with parvovirus. The disease is usually diagnosed through a fecal test, but because Trixie had been inoculated, that test was considered unreliable. A low blood count, which is apparent as the disease takes hold, was the best way to diagnose the puppy.

“We never considered not keeping her,” said Erica, but had the family been required to pay for treatment of the pup they had owned for less than a week, it may not have been possible.

Trixie’s treatment included shots of Neupogen, a human cancer drug, costing $2,000 per shot; two plasma transfusions; IV fluids; blood volume expanders; and a stay in the intensive care unit (ICU) for a month.

“She had a very bad case of parvovirus,” said Erica. Most diagnosed puppies stay in the ICU for five days for treatment.

There came a point when Trixie did not appear to be making progress. A second blood transfusion was being ordered, but the family was asked by the medical team at Alex Lewyt Veterinary Medical Center to consider how much more suffering the puppy should undergo. Euthanasia seemed inevitable.

The second transfusion was the turning point, though. Trixie rallied, began to eat and put on weight, and the debilitating diarrhea and vomiting stopped.

The Bloombergs had visited Trixie once a week, hoping against hope that the bonding would not end in heartbreak. On October 29, they received a call from the hospital saying that Trixie was ready to go home.

One Last Obstacle

“We were so happy,” said Erica. But Mother Nature had other ideas. The bizarre autumn snowstorm, Winter Storm Alfred, was brewing.

“So we decided not to go in the snow, thank goodness,” Ms Bloomberg said. “Then we lost electricity and power, so she stayed in Long Island for another week.”

“We offered to pay for boarding her that week,” added Erica, “but they wouldn’t take it.”

Finally, the puppy came back home the first week of November, weighing just five pounds.

Trixie is fully recovered from her brush with death, but Erica wants to make sure that the animal shelter that saved her life is supported.

“I’m not even sure how they can afford to treat puppies like Trixie,” she said.

The Alex Lewyt Veterinary Medical Center has about an 80 percent success rate for treating puppies with parvovirus, Ms Bloomberg said. “They treat them with everything they’ve got. Most people just can’t justify what it would cost [to do that privately],” she said.

If it were not for the efforts of the staff at NSALA and Alex Lewyt, Erica is pretty sure that Trixie would not be around to piddle on the carpet, nip at her heels, or give her one of those innocent puppy looks she uses on the family.

“I was really afraid at first that Trixie would die, but then I had a weird feeling that she would get well,” said Erica.

“She is completely well now, and we can expect her to have a long and healthy life,” said Ms Bloomberg, “and it is because of the amazing treatment she got at NSALA.”

To donate, visit www.PenniesForParvo.com, or stop by one of the collection points. One hundred percent of the money donated will go to support North Shore Animal League America Alex Lewyt Veterinary Medical Center.