Year-End Highlight of the Parvo Pup Program: 224 pups treated
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Dec 27, 2010
Mandy came to APA! from TLAC with parvo in March. After spending a week with Ellen, I took her in as my first foster.
Mandy was skinny, had little energy and an even littler appetite. Recovery was slow (she showed signs of distemper a week after I brought her home to foster) and we made frequent visits to the vet trailer that month, but watching her blossom into a playful pup was worth it.
After spending so much time together, I couldn't part with the sweetest pup I had ever met and decided to adopt Mandy. She seemed to look at me with thankful eyes and still has an excitement for anyone and anything that wants to show her love and attention.
Almost every time I look at her I think about how APA! changed her fate. Had she stayed at TLAC she would have been put down immediately. I think about how lucky I am that APA! and Ellen saved her life. The thought stops me in my tracks and then I give her a big hug! Though I wasn't really looking to adopt at the time, I can't imagine my life without Mandy now.
Mandy is one of the many parvo pups APA! helped over the past year. In 2010 we treated 224 dogs for parvo. Of those, 198 survived treatment, for a total survival rate of 88%.
This is really amazing - when you look up typical survival rates for parvo in the veterinary world. Specialists say that if you can treat the disease early on in process (which often times they come to us after having the disease for a while) and if treated in a hospital setting with the best drugs and equipment (which we only wish we had), you can expect a 70-85% survival rate. So it is pretty astonishing that Dr. Ellen Jefferson managed to have an 88% success rate, even in the face of a horrible distemper outbreak right in the middle of parvo season! Ellen deserves showers of hugs and applause.
We believe that every animal should be given a second chance and parvo puppies are no exception. We take parvo positive dogs from TLAC and with one week of intensive treatment, we have a high survival rate for these highly adoptable puppies to lead normal, healthy lives.
Currently, we are looking for a sponsor for the parvo ward that is currently being constructed in our new building. If you're interested in contributing to or sponsoring the Parvo Pup room, click here to see more info about our available sponsorships: http://www.austinpetsalive.org/donate/sponsorship/ or e-mail [email protected]
