As most are aware, A.A.R.F. does not have a facility to house animals. Most of them time, we are bummed about this…but occassionally, when viruses and disease strikes, we are glad and feel blessed. Instead of a widespread outbreak, similar to what happens in animal shelters, our ourbreaks are contained to specific foster homes. Of course this outbreak DID occur in our newest, WONDERFUL foster home addition, but they have been handling it like pros! Jill and John stayed on top of it and called as soon as the signs were apparent. Great Job! Jill and John pulled 5 from the animal shelter last Saturday (1/16/10). They had the two largest boys already crate trained and just about housetrained (Talk about an AWESOME foster home – especially when the two pups are only 12 weeks young!). When the brindle boy, Jack started showing signs of lethargy, vomitting and diahrea on Saturday morning (1/23/10), they called Jennifer immediately. Jennifer picked them up, brought them to Best Friends Veterinary Clinic in Crossville where Dr. McLaughlin admitted Jack, and sent the chocolate boy, Buck, home to be put on preventatives immediately. Here are some pictures of the two boys.
Jack – 12 Week Old Male Pup Buck – 12 Week Old Male Pup
Jennifer pulled all pups from Jill and John’s home to be put in quarantine, on preventative medications, and to be monitored around the clock. Here is a photo of the 3 other pups pulled from John and Jill’s Home:
Natalie, Kora and Cassidy – Female Lab Mix Puppies pulled from the Cookeville Putnam County Animal Shelter on 1/16/10
A.A.R.F.’s isolation area exists in Jennifer’s basement, which includes a large, stainless steel sink (donated by Jerry Farley of Monterey), a washer and dryer, a wood stove for heat, and a small refrigerator to store medications (thanks to YOUR donations).
A.A.R.F. asked Dr. McLaughlin for additional preventative medications to try to help more animals from the animal shelter, since they do not have the isolation areas that A.A.R.F. has and their chance of survival without treatment is slim. Jennifer pulled 5 out of the animal shelter to give them an opportunity to conquer this inevitable virus – once exposed, it is very likely that symptoms will start showing. Without proper treatment, puppies, especially, will not survive, as well as unvaccinated dogs – common for animals that arrive at the shelter. Here are some photos of the animals that were pulled:
James is a 12 week young lab mix pulled from the Cookeville Putnam County Animal Shelter on 1/23/10. Sage is a 12 week old Female yellow lab mix pulled from the Cookeville Putnam County Animal Shelter on 1/23/10.Sandy is a 12 week old Female Border Collie Mix pulled from the Cookeville Putnam County Animal Shelter on 1/23/10. Sandy is not doing so well as of current. She is being monitored and Dr. McLaughlin is on call 24/7 in the case that she needs to be hospitalized.
Shannon is a 12 week old Female lab mix pulled from the Cookeville Putnam County Animal Shelter on 1/23/10.
Linda, named after our VP who has beat the odds more than once, is our worst case so far. She was adopted from the shelter, and returned after her family felt that they could not handle the treatment and ultimate heartbreak of parvo. It is a VERY difficult disease to treat - financially, medically, as well as emotionally. She is currently in a plastic carrier in an 80 degree room on top of a heating pad. She has lost a significant amount of weight, was suffering from hypothermia, but continues to stay strong. Linda is a fighter and we are fighting to allow Linda the opportunity to survive in hopes to find her the absolute best home to give her that, now, third chance at life that she deserves.
A.A.R.F. purchased the first round of Clavamox ($63.00), Metronidazole ($76.00) and Tamilflu ($100.00) to treat 10 puppies. The Tamilflu is expected to last 3 days – we will need 7 days of treatment. We expect another cash outlay of around $200 to treat these pups. We received an update from Dr. McLaughlin this morning (1/24/10) that Jack is doing real well! He is eating a bit and drinking, but has yet to deofcate. Once he defocates and can suvive off of IV fluids for 24 hours, we will be able to take him into the isolation area for the remainder of his treatment (estimated cost of hospitalization: $100 per day). We expect that this round of Parvo will cost A.A.R.F. around $1000 assuming no others will need to be hospitalized. If the two others that are not doing well are hospitalized, we expect the entire cost to exceed $2000.
A.A.R.F., the board of directors of A.A.R.F., and the volunteers of A.A.R.F. are committed to saving the lives of animals as if they were our own. When decisions are made, we discuss all options with our veterinarians, and then with each other. We always ask the question “If you dog was diagnosed with parvo, would you treat it?” and the answer is always “Of course”. This is the committment that we make to every animal accepted into our program. The adoption fee on all of these dogs will be $125, as it is with the majority of our dogs. If each of them suvive, we expect to receive $1250 in adoption fees, which obviously does not cover the costs associated with Parvo treatment, let along getting them fixed, continuing their vaccinations, heartworm prevention, etc. We rely on public donations to assist the animals in our care. A.A.R.F. receives no government funding.
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We are on day five of Parvo treatment at the Farley house. We will continue to need the following supplies:
BLEACH LAUNDRY DETERGENT
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1/24/10 update by Jennifer Farley (931) 260-8018
James is a calm and quiet boy and doing very well. The second the canned food is put into his dish, he gobbles it up. This is a fabulous sign.
Sage is a WILD CHILD!!! She barks and bites at the crate as if to say “There is nothing wrong with me! Get me out of here!!!!”. She sucks down her food – Still doing great!
Sandy is not doing so well. We pumped her with some fluids last night, and is holding them in finally. She drank and ate a little bit after she received her fluids last night. This is a positive sign. She is still being monitored every hour.
Linda is not doing well. My opinion is that the ONLY thing that is keeping her alive is her stubborness. She resists the medications, she tries to bite me when I force the meds into her, and when I force administer pedialyte, she tries to spit it out. Because of her tenacity and stubborness, I believe that she is still fighting to survive. This is the only positive sign that I can see. She is VERY thin and lethargic – but responds well after fluids are administered. She has yet to eat or drink on her own. I continue to pray for this little girl.
Shannon is another wild child. LOTS of energy and kisses for me. Gobbles her food up. VERY good sign.
Cassidy is doing well. She plays and wags her tail and eats when she is hungry, drinks when she is thirsty. A bit lethargic, though, and one that I am watching closely. She perked right up when she got play time with her sisters this morning.
Kora – a little on the lethargic side today except for when she had play time with her sisters. Still eating and drinking OK.
Natalie – doing great! Wild, crazy, excited and playful. So far so good.
Jack – Dr. McLaughlin has high hopes – says he is doing great. We are hoping to take him home tomorrow sometime.
Buck – Still very active and playful, yet calm at the same time (personality wise). Eating and drinking and trying to get out of his crate, since he was already crate trained before he came here…poor Buck!!!
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1/24/10 8:00PM Update – Jennifer Farley
At 6:58, little Linda passed in my arms. It was a tough day – she fought so hard to survive. At 5:30, she even stood up, raised her head, looked at me and wagged her tail a bit. But unfortunately, I believe she was saying goodbye. This sweet little angel tried the best she could, but could not fight anymore. RIP little Linda.
Update from Dr. McLaughlin on Jack….scarfed down an entire bowl of food, no more vomiting, stool is green and icky – but he is about ready to come home.
James is still sucking down the food in one bite – and enjoyed his 30 minutes of puppy playtime tonight. No signs of Parvo as of yet. No negative reactions to medications.
Sage is just CRAZY!!! No sign of Parvo, no sign of anything – no reactions to medications. ALL is well! LOVED playtime tonight, but was a little scared of the basement floor at first…kinda crawled around. Did not last long! She was trying to get into anything and everything!!!
Sandy is still not doing so well. We pumped her with some more fluids, and it is keeping her stable. If no improvement by the morning, she will be heading to see Dr. McLaughlin. No puppy playtime for Sandy tonight.
Shannon is just a total sweetheart! My basement flooded in one corner today, and she watched me sop it all up with the mop. The only time she said a word is when the mop got too close to her crate – and then she tried to get it through the crate! Gobbles her food up, no reaction to meds, no sign of Parvo – doing great! Shannon moves real slow in compared to the others – may have some pyranese in her or something of the sort. Definitely has a calm and sweet personality. Playtime was fun for her, but all of the other pups just piledrived her! She enjoyed it!
Cassidy has turned the corner today to wild pup. She HOWLS until one of us go downstairs to see what is wrong…all she wants is more canned food. She is absolutely hysterical! No sign of parvo, no reaction to meds – doing better than expected! She and her sisters had 30 minutes of playtime together in their play pen.
Kora – Eating, Drinking, Playing, active – no sign of Parvo – no problems.
Natalie – Eating, Drinking, Playing, active – no sign of Parvo – all is great!.
Buck – Talk about an awesome pup – a lot like Shannon in the way that he kinda moves slower and is so absolutely sweet. LOVED to follow my husband around the basement while he worked in the wood stove to keep them warm. He is going to make an AWESOME companion! no sign of parvo or problems or anything.
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1/27/10 12:20AM UPDATE Jennifer Farley
JACK is HOME! He arrived on Monday, hungry, healthy and full of energy. He is being transferred to Jenny’s foster home in Monterey to recover and get some special TLC today~
I picked up Jack on Monday, and brought Sandy in to replace him. Although there was no sign of blood in stool, she was vomitting bile and was continuing to need fluids. I visited with her today and she looked good. Bright, alert, but still not ready to come home. We are all praying that she will start eating tomorrow -which is always the indicator that they are ready to be released. Dr. McLaughlin and Warlick believe she will recover just fine.
James is just about out of quarantine – no problems, no symptoms, no reactions. He is SUCH a gorgeous pup and will make someone an excellent addition to their family. He stole a toy out of the toy box (apparently he did not like the one I provided him with). Even during playtime, he carried it with him everywhere. I am in love with this pup….he is such a sweetheart!
Sage is my little hoover vacuum. Running around during playtime trying to pick up anything and everyting in an attempt to eat it! SUCH a sweet and loveable personality. Follows me everywhere when she has her run time. No symptoms, reactions or signs. 4 days left in quarantine!
Shannon….she must have some pyranese in her….talk about a sweet, slow, happy-go-lucky personality….she is definitely a keeper!!! Whoever adopts her will be so lucky to have her. No symptoms, signs or reactions. I will really miss her when she is transferred to another foster home!!!
Cassidy has found her peace. We added a new addition on the left side of her on Monday and she seems to have settled down some. no more howling or screaming to get out – just enjoys the company of our new boy to the left of her. She sure did enjoy her playtime tonight. She ran like “Mighty Dog” around my “L” shaped basement – knocking into things, tipping things over – she had SUCH a blast. She ended by jumping on my legs and into my arms for a little nuzzle into my pony tai. She is obsessed with my hair!
Kora – SUCH a sweetie!!! So quiet – never makes a sound – until playtime. It’s like she knows that she is here for a reason and she never complains about it. She accepts it and waits for me to come pick her up and cuddle with her. Instead of playtime, she just likes for me to carry her with me while I clean out her crate, make her meal, and get her meds ready. Yes, it is dificult to do this one-handed…but worth it. She likes to give kisses on my nose….she loves my nose!
Natalie – She always seemed like she was cold…so I moved her closer to the wood stove. She sleeps through EVERYTHING now! She LOVES the heat!!! But when she wakes up, watch out! She is ready to PLAY!!!!!!!
Buck – What can I say about awesome little Buck. He has a gant about him that excudes confidence in a dog – let alone a puppy! His newest game is “Hey! Let’s see where foster mom stashed the empty cans of food!!!” It is not uncommon for me to find him amidst 2 or 3 at a time. What an awesome dog….anyone would be blessed to have him as part of their family!
As you can see, everyone is doing great! We have NO negative news to report. We have 4 remaining days in quarantine until these WONDERFUL pups can be transferred to other foster homes. Assuming they continue to show no more signs through Saturday, they will receive their second vaccination on Saturday, transferred to new foster homes if available, and scheduled for the spay/neuter surgeries a week or so later. We always try to wait at least 7 days after administering a vaccination before sending them in to be fixed. We want their immune system top notch to prepare for the surgery!
Vet bills are piling up now. Jack’s treatment cost around $300. We got more meds today for prevention in the ones here – another $400. Sandy’s treatment should be somewhere similar to Jack’s if she can come home today. $100/day. We are just continuing to pray for each of these pups, and thanking Best Friends for their continued support of our rescue efforts – and for always extending us the credit that we need to ensure quality treatment for all of our rescue animals.
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In 2007, shortly after A.A.R.F. began rescuing animals, Hannah and her 2 brothers and 1 sister were rescued from the Hilham area. Within 1 week, parvo symptoms became apparent. All 4 puppies were hospitalized – and only Hannah survived. This was A.A.R.F.’s first experience with PARVO, and it became their mission to learn everything that there was to learn about the disease. Ironically, Jennifer is dog-sitting Hannah this week. She lays below little Linda as if to tell her “I fought – so can you!”. Here are some photos of Hannah then and now.
This is Hannah in 2007 the day before she was diagnosed with Parvo. This is Hannah, today, 1/24/10 - Healthy, Happy and VERY much loved and spoiled by her Mom and Dad.
To donate supplies – please call (931) 260-8018 and leave a message to let us know that you are making a donation. You can bring your donations to PETCO and leave them with a manager on duty. We will have volunteers available to pick them up and transport them to Jennifer.
To donate money to help with the expenses, click the “donate” link to the right, or you can bring it to a manager at PETCO, or mail it to us at P.O. Box 4074, Cookeville, TN 38502.
Thank you for your support. For more information on PARVO, please click on the following link:
