I adopted a puppy from the shelter Monday, her first vet visit was that same day. He said she had Coccidia and possibly worms and gave meds. She started having diarreah vomiting fever and listlessness the next day. We rushed her back and they said possibly Parvo. Hey kept her in hosp. over night on IV, the next day, after having put out close to 700.00 they said I should take her home if I couldn't pay more(which I can't) her insurance won't kick in for 14 days I'm not even sure it is Parvo, but she is deteriorating with blood in stools now, advice?

I used to work as a vet assistant and I hate to be a downer but... parvo is a serious illness. It is virus that runs quickly through litters and is very deadly. I have only seen one puppy make it through, but I always have hope. Parvo is sort of a stomach virus and has a very distinctive smell. Bascially the dogs die from dehydration because of the vomiting and diareha. The pup needs medical attention! And the shelter you got him from should be told, so they can properly disinfect the kennel and check to see if it has spread to other pups.


I hope your puppy makes it through!

How terrible. If it is the parvo it sounds like, I am afraid her only chance is to stay at the vet's. You could take her home and try to pour Pedilyte or Gator Aid into her, but I doubt it will help. For reliable information on parvo, see Canine Parvovirus, What you should know about (http://www.avma.org/communications/brochures/canine_parvo/parvo_brochure.asp) There is no cure for parvo. You can only try to keep the puppy from dehydrating while its body overcomes it. It is a horrible, awful disease killing many puppies just after they won somebody's heart. I hate it.

I encourage people to adopt from shelters, but hate to see reports like yours. At least you didn't pay a good price to a breeder and end up with the same thing.

You might want to visit the shelter and show them the bills. Ask to speak to the shelter manager. Tell her what has happened since you picked up the pup and you are worried that the pup won't pull through. There is a certain amount of responsibility the shelter usually takes for problems that occur in a reasonable time. It is evident these problems happened immediately. Hightail it over there and have a serious and CALM chat with them. Your vet should speak with their staff vet. This kind of stuff happens and it is always possible the puppy picked up the virus at your vets office, but they need to be aware that there might be a parvo outbreak in their midst. Look at the contract you signed. There is usually something in it about returning dogs and illness. If they don't pick up the bills completely, they should pay a portion of them. Labman is right, your puppy needs to be able to be monitored by the vet for it to have any chance of pulling through this. Good Luck!