My New Puppy Survived Parvo — Will the Other Dogs at the Shelter?

I found out Friday morning my 5-month-old puppy (who we only got two weeks ago) had Parvovirus! Because he's brand new to our home, it's clear he got it from the shelter he was at! The vet said it was going to be $600 (right before Christmas!) and he only had 70 percent chance at survival. Find out what we did:

Our secret was keeping him hydrated.

Parvo has no cure, no medicine. What kills the dog is getting dehydrated from vomiting and diarrhea. So if you can catch it early and get him hydrated and get anti-biotics for secondary illnesses, you have a better chance. We got started at the very first sign of it.

The vet taught me how to insert an IV into his back. Unlike human IVs that go into the bloodstream, this was inserted under the skin. The fluid forms a bubble under the skin (of the back) and then the body slowly absorbs it. So now I can add vet tech to my resume!

The lucky thing is once a dog gets Parvo they can never get it again.

But we still had to clean our home of it. The only thing that kills Parvo is bleach, because it's so resilient.

And it stays alive for MONTHS on carpets, floors, food bowls, etc.

We saw on Facebook the shelter we got him from (near Spokane) announced they had a bunch of new puppies to give away. I guarantee you some of those are going to get it!

You can vaccinate a puppy for Parvo, but it's a series of shots. While the animal is undergoing the series, you're not supposed to take them out to public trails, dog parks, or other public areas where they could spread (or catch) Parvo.