In the UK, Lolly the Collie is fighting for her life. Veterinarians are working to save her from the deadly Parvovirus that likely claimed the lives of the three other puppies with whom she was found. The four sweet pups were likely between the nine and twelve weeks old when they were abandoned in the freezing rain to fend for themselves.
Then They Were Found
They were discovered, emptied from a box on Braypool Lane in Brighton near the RSPCA, which is investigating this case of animal cruelty. The puppies had tried to stay warm and dry in a pile of sawdust, but when they were found, one of them was already dead. It’s presumed that their cruel owner abandoned them to freeze to death because of the cost of treatment for Parvo. Lolly is the only one of the pups still fighting for her life as all the others have perished despite emergency treatment attempts.
The canine parvovirus, or CPV, is highly contagious. There are two different forms of this virus. The most common is intestinal. Dogs with intestinal CPV often vomit, lose weight, have diarrhea, and suffer a loss fo appetite. The other form, most dangerous to young puppies like Lolly, attacks the heart muscles. This form is often deadly, and usually strikes puppies ages six weeks to six months. Vaccination can prevent this deadly disease from taking the life of young dogs. Now, only Lolly is left.
Julie Parsons of the RSPCA is sickened at the fact anyone would do this, especially so close to one of their centres.
Ms Parsons said: “It is so hard to understand why anyone would dump sick and dying puppies in the middle of the night in this way when they clearly needed help.
“The fact they were just up the road from the RSPCA centre is just heartbreaking.”
Because it’s a viral disease, there isn’t a cure; vets instead try to mitigate the symptoms while preventing the formation of secondary infections. While adult dogs have a 70% survival rate, puppies are at much higher risk because they don’t have the immune systems of adult dogs. Often, they go into shock before dying. The fact that Lolly and her litter mates were left out in the freezing rain instead of brought for treatment makes a recovery for Lolly all the more difficult since her system was compromised already.
Sources: Express; PetMD Image Source: Pixabay
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