‘It is heartbreaking’: Fatal virus parvo bubbling away in Charters Towers

A Charters Towers vet is asking dog owners to take vaccinations seriously after a recent outbreak of parvo - a virus which can cost your hip-pocket over $3000 in emergency care. WARNING: GRAPHIC CONTENT.

Rosie, a six-month-old dachshund puppy, fell victim to Parvo virus. Her Gold Coast owners ended up forking out $11,000 to get her better. Picture: Jerad Williams

A Charters Towers vet is urging residents to take dog vaccinations seriously after a recent spate of parvo virus.

Gold City Vets director Jess Batt said she was starting to get worn down with the amount of unvaccinated, or undervaccinated, dogs coming into the clinic.

“It’s exhausting, and it’s heartbreaking to be putting puppies down,” Dr Batt said.

“We’ve had a single case and it’s spreading through the whole town, because people will visit someone’s house and take the parvo home with them.”

Parvo virus is an incredibly resilient survivor, capable of spreading on people’s clothes, their car tyres, and laying dormant in the ground for up to seven months.

Gold City Vets veterinarian and director Jess Batt

Because of this ability to linger, unvaccinated dogs are at high risk of contracting the killer virus.

“Parvo virus needs to be constantly on people’s minds because it survives for so long,” Dr Batt said.

“There doesn’t need to be an outbreak for your unvaccinated dog to get it. All it takes is you visiting the dog park a few months after an infectious dog was there.”

A dog with parvo being treated at Gold City Vets.

Dr Batt said people who are thinking of buying a puppy seriously needed to think about the cost of vaccinations before taking the plunge.

“I’m really asking people to speak with your local vet and ask about the cost of puppy vaccines before you buy a puppy,” she said.

“If you can’t afford that, you shouldn’t be getting a dog.”

Dr Batt said people who are thinking about getting a puppy seriously needed to think about the cost of vaccinations before taking the plunge.

If you decide to avoid the $200 to $250 in puppy vaccinations, a $1000 to $3000 emergency care bill could be coming your way.

Dr Batt said some owners have opted for euthanasia instead of emergency care.

“Some didn’t want to see their dog in so much pain. It is very painful in their stomach and there is a lot of bloody diarrhoea and vomiting,” she said.

“There are others who went through with treatment, but the dog still passed away.”

A dog with parvo being treated at Gold City Vets

Dr Batt said owners who are up to date with their puppy vaccinations, or are taking their adult dogs to the vets every year for annual shots, can rest easy knowing their dog is protected.

“Parvo is one of the core vaccinations,” she said.

“It is included in the C3 vaccine, so even if your dog hasn’t gotten an actual parvo vaccination, they are probably protected.”

Dr Batts said the Charters Towers parvo cases began around a month ago, and dogs had been trickling into her clinic ever since.

Originally published as ‘It is heartbreaking’: Fatal virus parvo bubbling away in Charters Towers