By Tessa Van Der Riet
In any other situation, it's likely that Mindy the blue heeler would be dead right now. She was one of seven puppies left abandoned in a box outside a country pound.
To make matters worse, the unvaccinated puppies had contracted canine parvovirus - commonly known as ''parvo'' - a highly contagious disease that attacks the intestines. They faced being euthanised.
That was until Monbulk couple Melinda and Brad Folks stepped in. The pair run a small animal rescue organisation, Pawsome Friends, and they took in the sick puppies.
Parvo is often deadly, but it's especially lethal for an unwanted animal that winds up in the larger animal shelters, according to Ms Folks, who formerly worked in the shelter system.
Home and housed: Melinda Folks and Mindy.Credit: Wayne Taylor
''The standard practice was if a puppy was diagnosed with parvo, that puppy would be euthanised. Any other puppies that had had direct exposure with that puppy were deemed high parvo risk and usually euthanised as well, or at least kept in a quarantine isolation environment until symptoms started to show, then they would be euthanised.''
So, the Folks took a chance and invested in Mindy and the other puppies' recovery. ''We thought of three to four days of discomfort versus ending a life, and we went for the discomfort,'' Ms Folks says.
Mindy was put on a drip and received a combination of fluid therapy, plasma therapy and anti-nausea medication. Eventually the disease passed through the pup's system and Mindy can now look forward to a life as a family pet.
Pawsome Friends was started a year ago out of the Folks' Monbulk home. They take in abandoned dogs and cats - often aged between six and 12 months - and prepare them for new owners by having them live with ''foster families'' before eventually adopting them out.
''The common story is that people get a cute little puppy and then it grows up into a dog and it's no longer cute, it starts chewing, and they haven't put any training into the dog,'' Ms Folks says.
In one year, 109 animals have come through Pawsome Friends; 75 have been rehomed and many are still in foster care. ''That's what keeps me going, these animals going from being completely unwanted to absolutely loved," Ms Folks says.
Four of the seven puppies with parvo survived after coming into Pawsome Friends' care at the end of September. Two more parvo pups arrived over Christmas. Ms Folks says they'd do it "again and again" despite veterinary bills of at least $1000 a dog.
Parvovirus is contracted through an unvaccinated animal's contact with infected faeces and the virus can lie dormant in the ground for many years.
The RSPCA says it does not immediately euthanise dogs with parvovirus. "If we receive a dog with suspected parvovirus, yes, the dog will be isolated from all the other animals to avoid any potential spread of the virus, but the dog will receive our full care and attention to, first, try to ease any pain or suffering and try to remedy any effects of the virus," an RSPCA Victoria spokesman said.
The organisation says seriously infected puppies usually die within 24 hours and cannot be treated.
''There is nothing that antibiotics or similar medication can do for these infected puppies, we can only support them and hope for the best. Some will pull through,'' RSPCA veterinarian Andrew Byrne says.
In the Folks' recent experience, there is plenty that can be done.
Having watched the puppies survive parvo meant adopting them out became that much harder. ''When you have nursed one back to health you get an extra special kind of strong connection with them,'' Ms Folks says.
Before Mindy's recent rehoming with a family in Mount Waverley, Ms Folks promised there would be a lot of extra scrutinising of her potential adopter.
"You're going to have to be really good to get this one,'' she said.