# Parvo at VBA



## APBTLove (Feb 23, 2009)

Not sure where else to post this, so if it needs to be moved, let me know so I can copy and paste before it being deleted.
http://www.wvec.com/video/?z=y&nvid=342800

Just thought I'd warn anyone going there, you may bring home more than a dog if you aren't careful. 
In my opinion, this place is not a reputable rescue at all, they once kept a dog who had a family waiting on their toes to adopt him for about 6 weeks, then decided to kill him, because he was cage aggressive, but melted into a sweetheart once out of his pen, even with strangers.


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## RebelGSD (Mar 20, 2008)

This is not a rescue, this is Animal Control. They are required to take in every animal, sick or healthy, young or old, friendly or aggressive. They don't operate like a rescue that can pick and choose which animal to take and when. A parvo outbreak is a tragedy for the dogs and people and it is, unfortunately, not uncommon in animal control facilities. The virus is extremely resistant and hard to get rid of. Most of the AC facilities are underfunded and overrun with dogs that people dump.


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## pupresq (Dec 2, 2005)

Don't know anything about this shelter but sort of surprised and interested that parvo made the news. In my experience, most shelters have problems with parvo (which is not a reflection on their quality or reputable-ness). I always encourage anyone adopting a puppy to quarantine it for at least a week (preferably 10 days) after adoption. Thankfully parvo IS treatable if caught quickly and is rarely a problem for adult dogs.


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## APBTLove (Feb 23, 2009)

I think it made news because it is treatable, and they put down 14 dogs who were showing signs of it.
Also, because VBAC has been in trouble with the VB SPCA and others before for there lax care. 

Sorry, I posted this in a hurry and didn't stop to think of whether it was a 'rescue'.


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## pupresq (Dec 2, 2005)

I'm glad you posted it - don't want you to feel like you're being attacked!







It's an interesting story - moreso because of what they cover and what they don't.

As far as parvo though, it's really not treatable for shelters. It costs at a minimum $200-300 per dog to cure and few shelters have those kinds of resources. Euthanizing symptomatic dogs is the responsible thing to do from a disease control standpoint.


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## Avamom (Sep 28, 2004)

While parvo is very treatable it is also very contagious and if a shelter is not set up to be able to quarantine and/or their physical set up leads to high likelihood of transmitting diseases, sometimes you have to do a mass euthanasia of animals showing the signs for the "good of the herd". As in to save the hundreds kenneled there, and to keep from having a community outbreak due to adopted animals from that shelter, you have to sometimes kill those showing signs....yes it is awful, its gut wrenching honestly, but with parvo costing hundreds of dollars to treat per dog, most shelters can not afford that!

It’s the sad reality of shelters…its not due to anyone not caring about the dogs, they are caring…they are caring for all the healthy ones in the shelter and doing the best the can to save the most.

I wish it were different….I really do…….


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## RebelGSD (Mar 20, 2008)

Parvo may be treatable, at least in some cases, in this area it also costs thousands of dollars to treat it. My dog was in the ER for surgery and they quoted me $1500 for a day of care (without surgery costs), just fluids and monitoring. Multiply that by 14 and try to find someone to pay for it. I don't know any animal control facility that can. Area vets usually won't even touch parvo cases and just send people into the expensive ER. there are parts of the country where veterinarians are more cooperative and don't charge this much, I understand. Animals that people don't vaccinate, neglect and dump in shelters are the ones that bring the disease into the shelter. Often shelter staff takes the blame for bad dog owners who disappear from the scene.

I know of a VA shelter where staff and volunteers worked themselves off to eradicate parvo from the shelter and keep dogs in isolation, they were only partially successful and had to put all animals down and close for two weeks to scrub all floors and walls with bleach. I can assure you that nobody there enjoyed killing the dogs.


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## pupresq (Dec 2, 2005)

To me this is what's interesting about media coverage of shelters. It seems like there's often a focus on the things that they actually aren't doing wrong but the public doesn't understand, where things that might actually need to be addressed get missed. 

There's a general public sentiment of killing dogs is bad, animal shelters kill dogs, therefore animal shelters are bad which completely misses the point and reality - meanwhile the public fails to see things that really could be addressed or changed and how they could be part of the solution (both at shelters and with animal welfare in general).


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## RebelGSD (Mar 20, 2008)

There also seems to be some politics going on between AC and SPCA.


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## pupresq (Dec 2, 2005)

funny how often that's part of the equation too!


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## APBTLove (Feb 23, 2009)

I do understand that this is not unusual, and some do not make it, but the disease started in mid feb. and according to someone I spoke with who says they volunteer(or DID) until very recently, said that they did nothing until the SPCA started getting on them, but even then would not accept help with it.
I believe that is why she said she gave up on them and quit. 
She also says that many members of the public wanted to sponsor some dogs to get treatment, but could no adopt, and they refused that as well. 

People NEED to stop irresponsible breeding, it is the root of all of this.
C'mon, unless your dog has a GREAT pedigree and many titles, would be in the breed standard and has an amazing temperament, ect. ect. ect. they need to be spayed or neutered. 
And another thing, there are some pure-breds as well, so its not just mutts being handed over... There were 3 UKC PR pits in there with a 6 generation pedigree and great titles once.
http://www.beachpetpals.org/animals/detail?AnimalID=1267319
PB siamese ^
http://www.beachpetpals.org/animals/detail?AnimalID=1293989
Red Husky ^
http://www.beachpetpals.org/animals/detail?AnimalID=1267311
Keeshond ^ 
http://www.beachpetpals.org/animals/detail?AnimalID=1307384
JRT
http://www.beachpetpals.org/animals/detail?AnimalID=1307377
Minpin
http://www.beachpetpals.org/animals/detail?AnimalID=1307385
SFT


This isn't an animal posting, I know it's not allowed, it just showing that they are not just mutts in there! And that is one of the biggest excuses: 
"I WOULD rescue a shelter dog, but I want a pure bred."


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## pupresq (Dec 2, 2005)

Yep! No arguement here. Too much irresponsible breeding (of mixed breeds and purebreds both) and not enough knowledge of the real situation. 

"I WOULD rescue a shelter dog, but I want a pure bred." 

We had a thread a while back about common rescue/adoption myths and that was a big one. And even when people learn that there are actually lots of purebreds in shelters, they often still tend to assume it's only BYB dogs not "high end" dogs or working line dogs or young dogs or whatever. A look around the urgent pages here should prove that false pretty quick.


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## APBTLove (Feb 23, 2009)

Yep.
I found a very well-titled, AKC, shutzhund, great hips, and just over 2 years old black gorgeous GSD for adoption once, but I cannot get another while our old lady is with us, the stress of a new dog, you know. That was painful.

Well, hopefully this place will keep a higher standard for their facility with media coverage... I went in there once and gagged... I understand a shelter is going to smell, but there were piles tracked all over the cages that had obviously been there for days. 

AND they gave out on of the UKC PR pits I mentioned for a breeder! That is illegal. According to VA state law they have to alter the animal for it to be adopted, yet he was on Kijiji for stud, and sale at the same time by some evil lady..


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