Our puppy may have parvo and we have no money for trement feel like the worst pet parent?

Question

We have 2 5mo old puppies, the boy has been the sickest last niht between 8p and midnight he was having unconrolable diarrea about every 10 mins at one point ranging from dark brown soft stools to orange watery/musoucy sttols to even what appreared a mix of the brown with a watery diluted red kool aid color YES we know is blood and know there has been a bad parvo outbreak around here also about 3 nights ago he threw up everything he ate twice and maddive ammts of vomit, today he has just ben on the couch or laying down most of the time, not eating I even tried chopped very finely boiled chix and rice and pepto liek a vet siad on the phone and isnt taking in water, I have been giving him ice cubes to try to get him water that wat but also his sister and him chew the walls hense they may have ben exposed to lead also

Theiw eird thing is he has spells here he is totally fine and plays with his sister, NO CASH NO CARE we tried 3 vets they all said no cash no care what can we do???

they are border collie/husky mix we got them at 7 wks old, go figure things today are so commercialized, tried 2 more vets got the same answer NO CASH NO CARE, they just said the chicken and rice thing, and I snet hubby for the pedialyte, go figure ya serve your country lik my husband is in the army but a evt who says they care will not serve mans best friend when it is needed most, I understand they have bills but army folk are not a rich people, just like xmas so commercialized its not about the real meaning but about MONEY..... anyones welcome to IM me i they know anything in our area Ft Riley Kansas my im handle is pandoasblonde and my name is anna thanks!! and we did try a couple shelters they said due to cost and posible long term effects of parvo they would most likely be put down

PPS sorry about the spelling typing too fast with nails lol and my im handle is pandorasblonde

My husband just went into a vet clinic called town and country in junction city KS, DONT go there if you just need advice or ask about financing/unable to pay all at once they blame you, they made him feel like sh** saying it was our fault and yelled at him right there, what a way to practice buisness when looking for help and they sid form what he told me all you can do is put em to sleep

Answer 1

Make sure you keep them isolated so you don't spread it to other dogs. Parvo can live for months in the environment unless you use a strong bleach solution. You should keep him in a crate and clean it whenever there is a speck of urine or feces. He will have feces on his feet, buttocks, and body more than likely and anywhere he walks or touches will be contaminated. Wear gloves and maybe a poncho or something to keep your clothes from being contaminated. You shoes should be disinfected also to keep from contaminating the whole neighborhood, workplace, etc. Keep everyone from entering your house and yard and tell everyone to get their pups vaccinated ASAP. Take a sample of the poop to a vet. The test for parasites and parvo costs about $30 and it is worth it to know what you are dealing with. Parvo eats away at the stomach lining until they dehydrate to death. All the vets can do is give fluids via IV and give supportive care until the pups immune system can conquer it. Maybe you can find a farmer or someone to lend you some IV fluids and show you how to use it. Shelters do everything they can to prevent parvo from entering their premises. The second your feet touch their yard you are endangering every dog in their care. Hopefully it isn't parvo, but treat it like it is if you can't afford to have the stool tested. Maybe a shelter will sell a test for you for really cheap. It works similar to a pregnancy test, even I could figure it out (and I can be pretty blonde! As far as getting the pups to eat, whatever goes in must come out, and if they have bad diarrhea, fasting for 24 hours may just be a good thing, as long as they keep hydrated. Pepto bismol and other anti-diarrhea meds may make things worse because diarhea is a body's way of getting rid of something bad in a hurry. If it was lead or something, you can try activated charcoal tabs for a couple days to help absorb toxins. Definitely call a shelter/humane society for help, they deal with that stuff a lot and may have more ideas.

Answer 2

There is a product called Parvaid that is supposed to be good for dogs with parvo. You'll have to look on the net for it. I've read a lot about it in the Yahoo groups. There really is no treatment for parvo, it's a matter of keeping the dogs hydrated. Vets use IV's. Pedialite can be given with a eye dropper ever 15 minutes or so. Pet stores also carry a high cal, high vitamin supplement for dogs who can't eat.
As for the diaahrea & vomiting, here's a website with otc meds that are safe for most dogs.

Answer 3

IF you got your puppies from a shelter, they could have been infected with just about anything. THE MOST important thing to do for him is to keep him hydrated. Water is OK, but unflavored pedialite mixed with dissolving/flavorless Benefiber may help keep some fluids in his intestines longer than fluids alone.

If you can afford food, get a few cans of A/D from a Vet's office, (it's high quality food about 3.00 per can) mix in the benefiber (a teaspoon) with it and if needed add in some water until you can get this stuff sucked up into a feeding syringe and then syringe feed your puppy (careful not to choke him to death).

At this point you are battling two evils. Parvo and dehydration. You can treat him for dehydration which may keep him alive long enough to survive the parvo.

Acidolyphyllus (kept behind the counter at the pharmacy is an active ingredient in yougurt) is also good to help rebalance intestines - just mix it in with plain Gerber baby rice cereal and syringe feed this into your puppies mouth as well.

Puppies die from Parvo. It's serious. If all you can afford to fight is dehydration, then that's what you need to fight. Do NOT give your puppy any karo syrup to perk him up. It will make him worse.

Obvious advice is to take the puppy to a VET and beg and plead. If your puppy is suffering, have him PTS. If you believe your puppy has parvo, you need to keep him away from your still healthy puppy. You can also look at the PETMEDS site online and see if they have any treatments available.

If you are going to try to fight the dehydration - keep a loaded syringe (water/plain pedialite) around and administer a tablespoon of water every ten minutes or so as long as your puppy will take it in. You can get a syringe like this at PetSmart or a Farm Store -- if you try to suck up the A/d 'gruel' snip the tip off of the syringe for a larger opening. Helps greatly if you puree this food in a blender with enough water so that it's easier to suck up into the syringe.

Good luck.

Also - - your dog does NOT need ice chips. Keep him warm and hydrated. Honestly, this does not look good at all, but you never know. It's worth a try to save his life.

Answer 4

Sorry to hear about the pups. Sounds like Parvo......this sickness will overcome the pups in a matter of days. Look in the phone book and see if there is an Animal Welfare Society in your area. We came across this life saving group a few years ago in Colorado. They pick up the cost and will accept a donation. Also try an Animal Emergency Building. They usually do not turn pets away. Good luck......

Answer 5

What a bunch of ***** those vets were!! Didn't they offer any sort of home remedies, or alternatives? So much for them caring about the welfare of your animals! I assume that they are both Rottweilers, as that breed is prone to parvo virus.
I hate to be the bearer of bad news, but I'm sure that unchecked parvo is fatal.
As for the Parvo outbreak, eveything needs to be bleached down and sterilized!! Its highly contagious and an air born virus!!
Try to find a vet or animal care service that is a charity, or works for free, at least.
I'm very sorry, I've seen parvo first hand, its not fun.

Answer 6

Do you know how many people expect veterinarians to just give services away, with no consideration for their own families they have to support, or the payroll of their employees? People just assume that veterinarians are rich heartless people, who only want their money & don't care about animals. So many times, people come in begging for free services, or "payment plans", and end up never paying anything at all for all the hard work that has gone into saving their "beloved pet". And if the animal dies, well then you can really just forget payment at all... I know it must be a hard thing to have to watch your pet get sick & die because you have no money, but really... You should have thought of that before you got a pet you could not afford to care for. Parvo is 100% preventable.. Get them vaccinated properly, and they won't get it. I'm really sorry I sound so harsh, but I hear this same story all day..every day, and it gets pretty old.

Answer 7

What a horrible situation. I'm kind of shocked that a vet isn't willing to work something out with you. You may be able to find a vet who will accept monthly payments. Keep looking and calling around. I did this with my vet once after I found out that my dog had heartworm. Since the treatment was so expensive, they let me pay half upfront and allowed me to write a post-dated check to be cashed ten days later. Then again, I've been taking my "kids" to the same vet for years so they know me pretty well.

If you don't have cash and there is no way you can get treatment, please consider giving your puppy to a no-kill shelter like the Humane Society. You may hate to do it, but at least they will be able to care for the dog in a way that you are unable to do right now. I'm not going to lecture you about being responsible dog owners since I'm pretty sure you're already feeling the agony of having your hands tied, and I'm sorry to hear of your unpleasant circumstances.

Answer 8

Ok, I haven't read all the answers but what I am about to tell you could very well save your dogs life so read carefully...
Have your husband get IV bags, tubing and needles from his work or one of his buddies. Medics can always get ahold of them and most people in the Army can almost always get ahold of them (my husband was Army for 12 years) take the IV and you are going to administer what is called Sub Q fluids. What this means is about every 30-45 mins around the clock you are going to set up the IV bag with the tubing, take the needle and pop it into the scruff of your dogs coat. that's the kind of saggy skin on the back of the neck. Just pop it under the skin (hitting dog veins with parvo is very hard so don't worry about that) let a small bubble form filled with fluid under the dogs neck and then remove the needle. Make sure to use a steril needle each time or steralize the needle each time. After a few mins the water bubble will disperse under the skin. this is a way to hydrate the dog. If the dog can not get hydrated it will die of parvo. Like I said repeat this about every 45 mins untill your dog can keep fluids down. Most likely a few days. This is your best bet to save your dogs life without a vet's help. I saved two of my neighbors dogs using this method when they came down with parvo. When the dog can hold food down again offer it a mixture of rice and plain yogurt. The yogurt will help their digestive tract to process out the virus and get healthy again. I also suggest getting a baby syringe from your pharmacy, like the ones they use to give babies meds, and fill it with gatorade or another electrolyte drink and place it against your dogs cheek toward the back of it's mouth and push the plunger to force fluids down it throat. Again.... about 2 teaspoons evenry 20 mins on this. THE MOST IMPORTANT THING WITH PARVO IS TO KEEP THEM HYDRATED. I wish you luck. I know I am just some chick on the net but please listen to me. your dog's lives depend on it.
Paula

Answer 9

This has happened to me too. The vet wanted about $1500 to treat my dog. Unlike alot of vets, he really cared and told me what to do. Most of the time when a dog has parvo, he dies from dehydration. The main thing is to keept he dog hydrated. This isnt easy. The vet told me to get a very large syringe (without a needle) and about every 3 hours, give the dog some unflavored Pedialyte. The electrolytes help keep the dog hydrated. Also about every 6 hours give the dog some Pepto Bysmol. This will help with the upset stomach and diarrhea. You have to give the dog the Pedialyte every 3 hours around the clock. It is very tiring, but its the only way to keep the dog hydrated. I did this with my dog for about 2 days. After about 2 days she began to nibble on soft food. She made it through it and I had her for years after that. Good luck.

Answer 10

asodopholus and pedalyte.
That is insane, my puppy also recently just got parvo, and they needed money upfront, but it was $450 and that paid for the whole encounter.
Also watch out for vets that don't require upfront the first vet i took my dog to said parvo wasn't serious and told us not to give him anything no food, no water, no hydration for 24 hours and it would pass.