Animal shelter asks for donations to save puppies from virus

A parvovirus outbreak has one Calgary animal shelter scrambling to treat the puppies after two of the 11 recent arrivals died.

Deanna Thompson, executive director of the Alberta Animal Rescue Crew Society (AARCS), says 11 puppies tested positive for canine parvovirus — a contagious virus spread from dog to dog by direct or indirect contact with their feces.

She says that over the past week and a half, volunteers at AARCS have been treating puppies in hopes they make a full recovery.

"It's an awful virus for these guys to be dealing with. Sadly, we have lost two, Taiga and Tookey. Unfortunately, both had to be humanely euthanized," she said.

Thompson says the other pups are getting round-the-clock care as they fight the virus, and four have since been released from hospital.

"As difficult as it can be rescuing animals, it's the victories such as this that make every day, every tear and every broken heart worth it," AARCS stated on its Facebook page.

The shelter director says the spread of parvo originated with a litter of puppies from a rural property. She adds that treating the surviving nine has put a strain on the organization.

"We needed to buy an additional IV pump in order to provide round-the-clock care for these guys," she explained.

"They're not cheap these IV pumps, so we're trying to raise the money so that we can provide the best possible care."

AARCS has posted an urgent call for donations on its Facebook page and website in order to treat the puppies.

"Nobody wants to see these young beautiful puppies suffering from this sort of thing knowing that it is treatable," said Thompson. 

"We have a 90 to 95 per cent success rate in treating parvo, so we've reached out to our supporters and animal lovers in Calgary and beyond just asking for some help," she said.

The shelter is trying to raise $10,000 from the public so it can purchase four additional intravenous pumps for the puppies.

"We really do need the help of the public so that we can continue to provide the best possible care so these guys can have a good outcome," she said.

She also reminds breeders and owners to ensure their dogs are vaccinated so they don't contract the deadly virus.

"This virus is something that is completely preventable with vaccines," said Thompson. "It's highly contagious, especially in puppies."