Fears over killer dog poo

A devastated dog owner, whose puppy died from the deadly parvovirus, has urged people to pick up after their dogs. Louise Holmes, 45, from Barrow, Cumbria, became concerned in October when her pup, Alfie stopped eating, started vomiting and suffering from diarrhoea. She said: “Alfie was six months old and had been vaccinated against parvo. He started showing symptoms on October 26 and died on October 29 last year.” Alfie’s death was not confirmed to be parvo at the time as a vet can only diagnose the deadly virus while the dog is still alive.

However, when Alfie’s brother, Max was diagnosed with having parvo a few days later it became clear to Louise what her dog had died of. She said: “They gave Alfie two injections when I took him to the vet and he started to perk up. But when I got up on the Wednesday morning he was clinging on to life. We rushed him down to the vets at 7am and by 7.30am he was gone. I think it should have been publicised when Max was diagnosed as I now know of two more dogs that died of parvo before Alfie. People need to start picking up after their dogs and getting them vaccinated, you have got to act quickly. In a way Alfie saved his brother’s life because when Alfie died, Max was taken to the vets with similar symptoms and Toni, his owner, insisted that they keep Max in.”



Toni Ellis, 39, also of Barrow, spent around £2,000 on vet bills for Max when he was diagnosed in November. Her daughter, Sian, 19, said: “Max was in intensive care at the vets for a week, we weren’t allowed to see him and it was very costly at the end of it but we are just glad he is home. I don’t think anyone expected him to pull through as he wouldn’t even move most days.” Parvovirus is most commonly spread through dog faeces and can be transmitted by any person, animal or object. Barrow Borough Kennels went into lockdown on January 2 after three stray dogs died of parvo.

Peter Buckley, a street care officer at the kennels said: “Talking to some of the vets in the area it does seem that there is a problem. On the day I took one of the dogs to be put to sleep a member of the public was also there because their dog had parvo. The problem that we have at the kennels is that when dogs are collected we have no history of what that dog has or has not got in terms of inoculations.” John Stitt, a vet at Alexander Vets in Hartington Street in Barrow, is advising people to keep up-to-date on their dog’s vaccinations. He said: “There is a huge belief that dogs need to be vaccinated just the once and then owners don’t come back for the boosters which need to be done every year.” Dog owners should look out for symptoms such as lethargy, severe vomiting, loss of appetite and bloody, foul-smelling diarrhoea.