Expert: Jana Connell RVT, CVT - 6/8/2010

Question
Yesterday my 5 month old pitbull puppy started showing signs of parvo. we have given him the shot and kept pepto in him he drinks when i give him some in a syringe he started getting better last night but today he is not energized and there is blood cumming out his anus and there are two holes under his tail by his anus what can i do i don't have any money for the vet and they won't let me make payments

Answer
I don't understand what "shot" you gave him, but having a pit bull puppy with no or one vaccination that has parvo is a hard thing.

The blood you see is his intestines dying off and being sloughed off out of his body. This makes him unable to eat or absorb any food at all.

Pepto Bismol will do nothing for him or the parvo. This dog needs IV fluids or he has a really bad chance of not surviving this. The two holes you see (?) are probably his anal glands.

He needs fluids and since he won't be able to keep anything down him without vomiting giving him Pedialyte probably won't help much, but that is what he needs if he can't get IV fluids.

Ask your vet if you can at least get a bag of fluids for him and give them to him subQ at home. Those shouldn't cost too much. Make sure they tell you how much to give him under the skin at one time and how many times a day to do it.

There is not much else I can tell you at this point. This is one of the reasons we stress getting these puppies vaccinated every three weeks until they are 16 weeks old- all puppies.

Parvo is a disease that you can bring home on your shoes or he can get from the dog park. It is a very hardy disease that lives well on the ground for over 6 months.

Pit bulls, Dalmations, rottwielers, chihuahuas and a few other breeds have a very hard time surviving parvo.
Puppies do cost money for vaccinations etc, which is why they are a responsibility to own.

Get on the phone and call family, friends, whoever, to help you save this puppy. Call your vet and ask about the fluids.

I hope that he survives. He is going to have a tough road ahead to do so without any supportive care.


Here are some links to read about this dreaded disease:

http://www.peteducation.com/article.cfm?c=2+1556&aid=467

http://www.petplace.com/article-printer-friendly.aspx?id=81