This morning I get to work, ready for another Saturday shot clinic. It's going to be a busy one; reminder cards went out and I've got medicals coming in before the onslaught of shot clinic clients. I knew I was going to have a mess to clean up, since we had a dog with Parvo since Thursday. So I was prepared, or so I thought.
I opened the door to carnage that looked like a CSI set, except it wasn't all blood. I didn't think the dog could possibly be alive, but he was.
This dog was not the friendly type, but there was no way I could leave him in that mess for another hour until help showed up. Since we use racks in the cages the dog was at least not laying in his own mess, so I got him in a clean cage and set to work cleaning up. It took lots of bleach, and I also had to disinfect myself since I would be working for healthy animals that day. I've got a pretty strong stomach, but the mess and smell in there made me want to hurl.
For the want of a few vaccines, this family is going to have a vet bill more than ten times the cost of the shots, whether the dog survives or not.
Does vaccinating guarantee the dog won't get the virus? No, but it sure puts the odds in the dog's favor and increases the survival rate should the dog contract the virus. Although Parvo most commonly affects puppies, adult dogs still can get it, so a little extra insurance by way of a vaccine is a good thing.
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