Golden Retriever : : Female : : Baby
Learn more about the Golden Retriever.
On April 24, 2024, we received a call from an emergency veterinarian in Peoria– they said a Good Samaritan had “found” four sick Golden Retriever puppies and brought them to the ER. The two males and two females were thought to be 2 to 3 months old. One of the puppies was quite ill – was vomiting and had bloody diarrhea; the other three had milder symptoms. The sickest one tested positive for parvovirus, so all the puppies had at least been exposed. Would we take them? Of course. The AGR transporter picked them up at the ER and took them all to Animal Medical & Surgical Center for 24-hour specialty emergency care. All of the puppies tested positive for parvo. There is no specific treatment for parvo – either a puppy is going to survive the disease or won’t. However, supportive care is given with fluids, anti-nausea medication, nasal feeding tubes and antibiotics to ward off possible secondary infections. Fortunately, all four puppies survived. All have been adopted with addenda given for neuters or spays when the puppies are about one year old. They are all in the process of being fully vaccinated, but are too young to need testing for valley fever or heartworm. The two girls were placed as soon as they were well enough to leave the hospital (one in two days, one in three). The boys were both fostered by our Intake Co-manager who had fostered parvo puppies for AGR in the past. She was familiar with the clean-up protocol – pick up poop immediately and douse the area with bleach. The virus is transmitted in the feces and can remain viable in the environment for up to a year, so the adopters were all cautioned to use the same protocol. 24-027 Phoebe, who was renamed Riley by her adopters in Peoria, was the first to recover from the parvo infection. She was fostered by our Intake Co-Manager for a couple of days. She did not want to eat the first day, so the vet recommended rubbing some Karo syrup on her gums to get some glucose into her – that did the trick. She had a joyful but brief reunion with Ross when Ross was brought to the foster's for fostering. When the AGR transporter took the puppy to her new home, she had to insist that the lantana and firesticks in the back yard be fenced or removed. Both are toxic to dogs, and since puppies are prone to chew on anything and everything, AGR has the policy of not placing puppies in homes where they could get into such plants. The adopters did fence off the plants within a day. After the puppy’s first vaccine, they reported: Riley is playful, smart and the vet said she’s doing great!
Other Pictures of Phoebe/Riley (click to see larger version):
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