Our rescue puppy had distemper, how long should we wait before adopting again?
My husband and I adopted a sweet and adorable little puppy from an animal shelter a few weeks ago. When we adopted her they said she had kennel cough, it only took 2 days for her to become severely sick. She held on for quite awhile but after having severe pneumonia and being in the hospital for 4 days our doctor said she had distemper and wasn't responding to any treatments so we had to let her go. We only had her for 10 days but we loved her and we miss her so much. Letting her go was the hardest thing we ever did. :(
I'd like to adopt another puppy (preferably a 4-8 month old because our 1-1/2 year old dog accepts smaller dogs into her territory easier but we eventually want one as big as her,) when we are both ready but I am worried about how long we should wait before bringing another puppy in to our house. We've cleaned everything we knew she touched but we have wood floors and couldn't really scrub them with bleach. I've found some information online that says the distemper virus can only live outside the body for a few minutes but I want to make sure that's right before we even think about bringing another puppy home.
If there is anyone out there with some definite information I would appreciate it if you could let me know! Thank you.