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Maddie, a 5 month old Chihuahua mix, arrived yesterday for Parvo treatment
One of the reasons we're able to keep our costs down is because we know how to treat many illnesses without requiring treatment at a veterinary clinic. Don't get us wrong, we'd love to have the Cadillac approach to offer each animal, but quite frankly, it isn't needed all the time and in Maddie's case, some IV fluids and medication and a knowledgeable nurse is all she needs right now.
Maddie was surrendered to Animal Control on September 29th after testing positive for Parvo, a virus that can wreak havoc on a dog's GI tract. Parvo generally causes loss of appetite, lethargy, fever, vomiting and diarrhea and many times the symptoms are severe. In Maddie's case, the only real indicator that she has Parvo at this point is that she shows positive on the test and she refuses to eat or drink. Nonetheless, dogs with Parvo are generally euthanized in shelters due to just how contagious the Parvo virus is.
Maddie would have been one of the 50,000 that will die in Valley shelters this year, but thanks to a few good nurses at HALO, she should make a full recovery! The coin toss comes in to play because treating Parvo is time consuming and can also be heartbreaking because they don't all make it. It also has to be done from home, on our time off to keep the other dogs at the shelter safe. There are only two staff members on HALO's team that have the expertise needed to administer IV treatment without supervision so they always have the "I'm not it this time" battle jokingly between each other. In the end, the dog comes out the winner either way, because someone always takes the dog home to treat them whenever humanly possible (and when they don't already have puppies they're fostering at home)!
We're confident that Maddie will make a full recovery and you'll see her cute face, hopefully looking a bit more chipper, on our adoptable page soon!
With your support, we will continue
Helping Animals Live On!!
We think dogs like Maddie are worth $10 a month, do you?
Maddie says, "Dogs like me need your help!"
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