" Do you know what parvovirus is?"
Canine parvovirus is the most widespread viral or infectious disease. It primarily affects puppies. That's why it's so important to follow the correct vaccination schedule and keep puppies from going outside until they have received all their vaccinations.
How can parvovirus be detected?
If your puppy (although it can be affected up to 2 years old) has vomiting, hemorrhagic gastroenteritis (vomiting and bloody stools), fever, leukopenia (decrease in white blood cells) and lymphopenia (decrease in lymphocytes in the blood), it is presenting all the tentative indicators of a clinical diagnosis.
But then… what do I do if my puppy is vomiting a lot and there's no blood? Well, as we should do with any abnormal behavior we see in our dog, go to the vet immediately so they can give him a rapid test. If he tests positive for parvovirus, he'll have to be hospitalized. Unfortunately, this disease has a very high mortality rate; it's very important to detect this virus as soon as possible, and few puppies survive. Luckily, Leia was one of them.
Today I'm going to tell you about Leia. Leia, my two-month-old puppy, the apple of my eye, my everything in difficult times, started out on a Saturday like any other, playing, getting into mischief, and eating. We had to leave, so we put her in the car. That's when she started vomiting for the first time. I thought maybe it was from the rush of putting her in the car so quickly and didn't want to worry about it. However, once we arrived at our destination, she vomited again, and continued vomiting five times that same morning (without any blood). When we got home in the afternoon, we noticed she was very lethargic and decided not to wait any longer and went to the vet. They did the appropriate test, and my worst nightmares came true... Leia had tested positive for parvovirus.
Once we had a clear diagnosis, we rushed to the Fénix Veterinary Hospital, which had only opened a month earlier. We received excellent treatment; the staff attended to us immediately.
From the very beginning, they gave her fluids to prevent dehydration from the repeated vomiting. The vet told us it was a quick response on our part, since many puppy owners wouldn't have taken their pets to the vet just because of the vomiting and Leia's lethargy. They told us that there were several important factors to consider in overcoming parvovirus:
- Early detection (to prevent the virus from spreading as much as possible).
- The puppy's age (to be able to know the state of its immune system).
- Breed and weight.
- The puppy's will to live.
Leia was admitted at 2 months old and weighing 8 kilos. She was the first to be admitted to the infectious disease wards of the veterinary hospital.
The morning after she was admitted, she started having diarrhea and vomiting blood. The smell was so unpleasant that even she was frightened. She had to remain hospitalized. At first, they thought it might be a false positive, because we had vaccinated her against canine parvovirus that same week, but unfortunately, that wasn't the case.
On the fourth day of her hospitalization, during which she was given fluids and food through a feeding tube, we saw that Leia wasn't improving. That night, the veterinarians told me it would be the decisive one for her; she could either live or die. Fortunately, the next morning I received a call from the veterinarians (as they did every day she was hospitalized, updating me on her condition) telling me that Leia had made it through the night, that she wasn't perfect, but that the worst was over.
Although I was dying to take her home, I couldn't bring her home yet. She needed to be monitored and given fluids to restore her hydration levels and stabilize her body. A week later, Leia finally came home, but with a lot of medication and close monitoring, as she only weighed 5 kilos. She had lost 3 kilos during the week she was hospitalized.
Today, there's no trace left of that virus. She's a happy, mischievous, and cheerful three-and-a-half-year-old dog, always waiting to greet you. I'm eternally grateful to all the veterinary staff who cared for Leia during those difficult weeks; without them, Leia wouldn't be here with me.
And of course, thanks also to Leia for fighting like a warrior every single day, for clinging to life so fiercely and staying with me. My Leia is everything to me; she's my greatest support in bad times, my joy in good times, my life partner and travel companion. As I always say, she's the princess of my life, and I thank her for all the moments we've shared and all the ones we have yet to share together.
Mommy loves you.”
