BELLEVUE, Neb. (KMTV) — Sebastian is only a little over a year old but this little dog has already had some big challenges in his life.
“He was an owner surrender. He became sick in the owner's home and when they took him into the vet for treatment he tested positive for Parvo,” said Roberta Cisar with Muddy Paws Second-Chance Rescue.
Things weren’t looking good for Sebastian, who like many dogs with Parvovirus, had to be hospitalized.
“He did spend four days in the hospital and had one blood transfusion so he was on the sicker side,” said Cisar.
Luckily for Sebastian, he landed at the Muddy Paws Second-Chance Rescue, a local rescue operation in Omaha.
Many rescue organizations won’t take in dogs with Parvo.
The infection is easy to spread and expensive to treat but Muddy Paws has been taking in these tough cases for years now.
Unfortunately, though Muddy Paws has seen a spike in the number of Parvo rescues in the last two weeks and while they are treating every pup that comes in, their resources are starting to be stretched thin.
“We have had 30 cases so far this year and 12 of those cases have been in the past 14 days. Each Parvo case, with the hospitalization that is required, on average costs $3,500. The medical bills have been $43,000 in the last two weeks for Muddy paws treating this latest rash of dogs,” said Cisar.
Muddy Paws is calling on the community for help in taking care of these sick pups.
You can help in a couple of different ways. Financial donations are always welcome and if you are up for it, Muddy Paws is also accepting applications for new Parvo Foster parents.
“We provide all of the training. With the 12 that have come in for the past two weeks it has really maxed out our Parvo Fosters,” said Cisar.
Muddy Paws isn’t just treating pups with Parvo, they are also taking steps to prevent Parvo’s spread in the community.
“This year we went from reactive to being more proactive. We do monthly vaccination clinics and the schedule for that is on our Muddy Paws Facebook page,” said Cisar.
It's important to know that Parvo can live in the environment for months after a dog has recovered from its infection, so fosters of Parvo dogs can not foster other animals for at least 9 to 12 months after fostering a Parvo pup.
It's a little extra work to foster a Parvo pup but Cisar says it's hard to find something more rewarding than helping a pup get back to being happy and healthy.
“That's the thing, if we can get them past and beat the Parvo, they go on to live 100% healthy lives,” said Cisar.
If you want to help out with the influx of Parvo pups you are encouraged to get your pup vaccinated against Parvo or reach out to Muddy Paws Second Chance Rescue. You can find them on its Facebook page or by email at muddypaws2chancerescue@yahoo.com
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