“You could tell he was pretty sad.” Surrendered due to a medical hardship, Amos, was visited at an overcrowded shelter in Wyoming by one of our volunteers. At the first meeting, he was underweight and generally not too excited about much. However, he enjoyed the smells of the outdoors and thoroughly enjoyed butt scratches. He also made a point to greet anyone walking by at the front of his kennel.
Two days later, our volunteer went to transfer Amos out of that shelter and into the BDAR foster program. “He was curled up in a ball on his bed.” When the volunteer stepped into the kennel with Amos, he looked, but wouldn’t move.
After some gentle pets, Amos finally lifted his head and stood. The volunteer quickly saw that he was dripping. He had peed all over himself. He didn’t have the energy to get off his bed to potty. The volunteer noticed that he wasn’t eating any treats, not even the Cool Ranch Doritos she tried to bribe him with. On top of that, in the two days since she saw him last, Amos had clearly lost more weight.
An attempt at bathing him failed. A wet towel would do for now. Amos was loaded into the truck and headed to his foster mom’s home. Once there, he showed some signs of the dog she met two days ago. He wagged his tail at her dogs, but mostly stayed curled up on a blanket.
The next day, Amos went to the vet. He was even more lethargic, stopped drinking water, and had a concerning stool. The vet decided he needed to stay overnight to be hydrated, have some tests run. The vet diagnosed him with parvovirus.
Parvovirus (or parvo for short) is a highly contagious virus that is routinely vaccinated against. Without preventative measures, parvo can be deadly, especially to young dogs. At BDAR, we vaccinate all puppies and dogs, but this doesn't mean we don't see a parvo case every once in awhile. According to the American Veterinary Medical Association (AMVA), parvovirus “affects dogs' gastrointestinal tracts and is spread by direct dog-to-dog contact and contact with contaminated feces (stool), environments, or people.” It contaminates everything, is readily transferred to new spaces, and it survives for long periods of time. It’s a very serious virus and when it infects one of our foster homes, it can remove them from fostering for up to a year. For more, in depth information about parvo, please visit the AVMA website.
Amos was hospitalized for two days. After his foster mom picked him up, she posted online, “Amos is HOME! He is a completely different dog! He flew into my arms at the vets office.” It’s a happy ending for a sweet pup. However, he still has a road to recovery, especially in gaining weight. Also, Amos will be quarantined for 6-8 weeks because he could be contagious to other dogs.
Amos’ story is preventable with routine vaccinations. We are grateful to everyone that chipped in to pay for Amos’ vet bill. Especially to the anonymous donor who called All Creature Vet and put $500 towards his recovery. And the Rescue Rangers for picking up the rest of the bill.
Donations like these are so important to us at BDAR. We have money for medical fees but emergencies happen far too often. Thank you for your support. Amos and all of us at BDAR, truly thank you.
Amos is still on the mend, trying to gain weight. As of October 8th, about 3 weeks after his initial vet visit, Amos has only gained 2 pounds.
If you would like to contribute to his story, please donate at BDAR.org. We are also accepting pet food; his foster is feeding him Victor Performance to help put the pounds on.
