More Questions About My Foster Boy - Huey!

[Clyde]

A lot of rescue groups don't have the means to quarantine before the dog goes to the carer. In this instance the carer should act as quarantine ( a lot don't though!) So while I don't believe it's the end of the world that the group did not quarantine before you had the dog, they definitely should have advised you of the risks so that you were made well aware of what you are in for.

I really feel for you, it's an awful feeling. A lot of us have experienced it before so you have a sounding board here

[Nekhbet]

carers should be educated in quarantine and MADE to comply by the rescue group (not having a go at PoppyDog here at all)

what a terrible thing for you. If Poppy is Vaccinated, wash everything, and I mean everything that dog has touched in bleach. Better yet if you can get Virkon powder make up a strong solution and start scrubbing. As for the yard, wherever the dog has pood I would be pouring strong bleach solution on it to soak into the soil ... ok so your grass will be dead for a while but it should kill whats in the soil for the most part.

I had 4 dogs with me when my 5th got parvo. All were vaccinated and OK, they were playing with him the day before the symptoms showed. Dont worry too much to be honest but I would be throwing away all bedding/porous items that dog played with or slept on.

I am so angry and upset!!! He tested pos for Parvo!

How is it that they don't test for that before he leaves the pound??? I was told he was given a clear bill of health!!!

easiest parvo test is with blood spot SNAP test (bit like a pregnancy test stick) but it's not really that reliable. If you want to do a full whiz bang blood test to say yes or no then that is about $200

Edited March 16, 2011 by Nekhbet

[Greytmate]

I didn't realize they were not operating in an ethical way by getting us to collect straight from the pound!

I revisited the thread where you asked what to look for in an ethically run rescue group, and you were advised to ask if the dogs were quarantined or whether they were to be picked up by you from the pound. What we (DOL) failed to spell out (in that thread) is why that question is so important. Why we have quarantine or what can be done if it isn't available.

Did you ask the rescue? If so, what did they tell you?

We have to do more than ask questions of rescue organisations, we have to understand the implications of the answers.

[Vickie]

A lot of rescue groups don't have the means to quarantine before the dog goes to the carer. In this instance the carer should act as quarantine ( a lot don't though!)

so true Clyde. Not only that but many groups & carers (even though they are trying) are only providing aspects of quarantine anyway. To provide 100% quarantine is beyond what is practical for most rescues or carers.

Eta, i am not for a minute suggesting that quarantine is useless, just that it is difficult to make it foolproof.

Edited March 16, 2011 by Vickie

[Crisovar]

A lot of rescue groups don't have the means to quarantine before the dog goes to the carer. In this instance the carer should act as quarantine ( a lot don't though!)

so true Clyde. Not only that but many groups & carers (even though they are trying) are only providing aspects of quarantine anyway. To provide 100% quarantine is beyond what is practical for most rescues or carers.

Eta, i am not for a minute suggesting that quarantine is useless, just that it is difficult to make it foolproof.

Not to do so is not best practice.

Too many rescues and foster carers are doing nothing at all to prevent an outbreak of disease, and too many groups and carers are not fully informed.

There are no guarantees with anything but to take the huge risks that many are prepared to in the great quest to save everything is foolhardy and puts lives at risk. We see it over and over and we also see the results.

If it means less animals saved because the correct procedures can not be put in place then that is what has to be.

[Greytmate]

A lot of rescue groups don't have the means to quarantine before the dog goes to the carer. In this instance the carer should act as quarantine ( a lot don't though!)

so true Clyde. Not only that but many groups & carers (even though they are trying) are only providing aspects of quarantine anyway. To provide 100% quarantine is beyond what is practical for most rescues or carers.

Eta, i am not for a minute suggesting that quarantine is useless, just that it is difficult to make it foolproof.

Providing the correct information to new foster carers about the risks of disease in pound dogs, and giving advice on how to minimise them, is not so difficult.

[juice]

Poppy, bleach won't kill parvo, you need f10. It also lives in the ground, so anywhere the pup has been.

Your dog will probably be fine, try not to stress.

Just remember it lives for upto 10 years in the ground, if you ever think of bringing home an unvaccinated pup again. Its hard to tell in the pound, a dog can look fine and go down a few days later.

[SueM]

I used Virkon when I found out I had transported a Parvo dog, used it on anything and everything. Shoes etc as well, the local vet ordered it in for me.

[Clyde]

A lot of rescue groups don't have the means to quarantine before the dog goes to the carer. In this instance the carer should act as quarantine ( a lot don't though!)

so true Clyde. Not only that but many groups & carers (even though they are trying) are only providing aspects of quarantine anyway. To provide 100% quarantine is beyond what is practical for most rescues or carers.

Eta, i am not for a minute suggesting that quarantine is useless, just that it is difficult to make it foolproof.

Providing the correct information to new foster carers about the risks of disease in pound dogs, and giving advice on how to minimise them, is not so difficult.

Which is why I said that in my initial post.

[PoppyDog]

So sorry to hear that this has happened to you, get all the advice re what you need to do now from the experienced people here, you need to clean the car as well that you transported him in etc as well, also unfortunately parvo can stay in the ground for over 12 months, I wouldn't be letting any dogs on your property until that time is over. Keep a close eye on Poppy, I hope that the rescue group has informed you of what to do now.

Thanks!

They haven't informed me of ANYTHING!!! I haven't heard from them since 9am this morning when I called them to tell them he had tested positive for Parvo!!!

What should I be expecting of this group in terms of support? Should I be expecting them to supply me with the chemical you mentioned that needs to be ordered from the vet? Should I send an email outlining my concerns and informing them I will not be fostering.

OH and I don't even want to bring Huey home if he recovers. We feel like this whole ordeal has traumatised us a little and we want someone else to care for him and find him a loving forever home. I don't think fostering is for us. We were attached and all ready to adopt Huey even thought in hindsight now wasn't the best time (with the wedding coming up etc).

I've sent numerous emails to the coordinator and got NO response in the past few days.

I have had to call HER with concerns. Am really dissapointed!!!

[PoppyDog]

Oh an with regards to quarantine...We had Huey crated most of the time he was home but he and Poppy also spent 5 hours together playing outside.

[deefraser]

I have had negative experiences with fostering a few times, I had kennel cough go through all my dogs at one stage and while they paid for the treatment of the foster dog which brought it home, I was still left holding the bill for my 3. Any foster dog I had after that spent it's first few days in the dog pen to be sure that it was not going to infect mine. I have found rescue organisations generally do not look after their foster carers as well as you would think but they are still gratefull, and after all, we're doing it for the dogs

I hope this negative experience doesn't put you off fostering again, the puppy world needs more people like you

[SueM]

Oh an with regards to quarantine...We had Huey crated most of the time he was home but he and Poppy also spent 5 hours together playing outside.

Hi I just tried ringing you, if you can send me a text I will call back when you can take a call.

[fifi]

Your vet should be able to supply you with an effective parvocide.

If the crate is metal it can be treated, but bag and throw the bedding.

Hope the little guy is okay.

fifi

[Staycalm]

PoppyDog, I get the impression that you had built up a rather rosy pictured image of the situation with this first foster. It is a terrible pity that it has gone this way and that you now feel it has turned into a negative experience that has not only put you off fostering, but you don't feel the same way about poor little Huey.

Yes, it is important to clean clean clean and now you have had a lesson on why animals taken from pounds do need to be quarantined in some way. If it wasn't parvo it could have been kennel cough. Both are easily caught in pound situations.

I just can't help feeling that you were a little emotionally unprepared for anything less than a positive experience. Anything can happen with fosters and to expect that every experience will be a positive one is a little naive. Plenty of sad and tragic stories are out there from people fostering. They pick themselves up and keep going because the good times far outweigh the bad in the main.

Request all vet bills to be covered by the rescue. You can try to have them cover the cleaning chemicals but in the end you need to use them no matter who pays.

I hope you will have Huey back, even just to allow him time to recover. It's not his fault poor lamb.

[Kissindra]

In a lot of ways they seem to have their heads screwwed on the right way, and the contacts to make a very good go of it. I was hoping to help with fundraising since I can't foster dogs right now but given I've been banned thanks to asking what happened re: Huey I think I'll save my efforts for people who are not afraid to answer reasonable questions about their practises.

Hope they learn from this, it would be a bloody pity if not.

ETA - if what people are saying about their foster screening/matching process is correct - I take it back - run away!

Edited March 16, 2011 by Kissindra

[juice]

Good post Stayclam

Fostering isn't about making us feel good, we do it to help the animals, i provide all food and flea treatment for mine, i could ask for some ( and have recently had dog food), but i choose to help that way.

We all get dogs that come with surprises, i have kept a couple who were turned out to be terminally ill, it happens.

You have to except the good with the bad.

[SueM]

Accepting the good with the bad yes, but getting your first foster and it having Parvo would sure as hell put most new foster carers off doing it again. The rescue should of explained the risks of picking a dog up straight from the pound and explained what the risks involved are.

[megan_]

Sorry things turned out this way. This is why quarantine is so important. I understand why some newby's don't understand its importance, but it is unforgivable that a so called rescue group doesn't.

[LDH]

If it is the rescue group I am thinking of, they have only recently started up and the consensus is that they are just trying to do too much too quickly. This is certainly not the first questionable scenario I have heard about in relation to this group.

I heard of one occasion where someone filled out a general enquiry form re fostering, and the next thing she knew she received a phone call saying someone was on her way to her house with a dog straight from the pound...In almost all cases I think the dogs are going straight from the pound to the foster homes, with no vet check or work done at all. In many instances, the dogs are listed for adoption almost straight away and the first time they see a vet is when the rescue receives an adoption application....

I agree fostering is hard work, and you should only commit to it if you are prepared to take the good with the bad, but ultimately the rescue group has to take responsibility for the welfare of its animals and making sure it’s carers are sufficiently informed about what’s involved.

I do hope poor little Huey makes a full recovery. Poppydog, I am sorry this was your first introduction to fostering. I do hope that in time you will consider it again.