Resident Reports “Parvo Problem” at the Atlanta Humane Society
March 13, 2010 | 9:39 am
Amanda writes in…
I’m writing you because I am hoping you can help me raise awareness about a practice at the Atlanta Humane Society. You may be wondering how this relates to Decatur, and I would say that it’s because it affects a Decatur family (mine) and the Decatur Village Vets (my vet).
Last week, we adopted a truly adorable puppy from the Atlanta Humane Society. Unfortunately, 3 days later she began throwing up, and on the 4th day she was diagnosed with parvo. With the help of the Decatur Village Vets, who are really amazing, we did everything we could, but we couldn’t save her.
Parvo is a horrible virus. It attacks a puppy’s intestines and causes vomiting and diarrhea that last long after there is no food in their stomach. It is incredibly contagious and can be spread easily on the soles of shoes, clothes, puppy fur, and in bodily fluids of infected dogs.
When you have a puppy with parvo, you have to bleach everything in your house, including your yard. It is very hard to kill. You also can’t have another puppy (or vaccinated dog) in your home for 6 months to 1 year (depending on who you ask).
So it’s very serious, and the consequences are serious. It’s also very expensive to treat.
When we adopted our puppy, Marlowe, from the Atlanta Humane Society, we asked if she had been tested for parvo, and we were told that she was. In fact, she was not. We received medical records with the adoption that included a test for giardia (symptoms would be diarrhea, ironically the same as a symptom for parvo), but there was no test for parvo. The Atlanta Humane Society does not routinely test puppies for parvo – even my puppy who did, in fact, present a symptom.
In all likelihood, her whole litter was sick. I called as soon as she was diagnosed, thinking they would want to call the people who had adopted her littermates so that they could have their puppies tested and treated. They did not. They were defensive and unhelpful. They reminded me that they do not guarantee the health of the animals you adopt there. That makes me even angrier knowing that they do not do basic testing, which I had believed they did – parvo, rabies, heartworms; there is a base level of health you expect when adopting a pet from such a (supposedly) reputable facility.
I’m sending you this message not because I want to recoup the money we spent trying to save Marlowe, but because I want to help other people avoid this situation. I strongly believe shelters, rescues, and breeders should be testing for this virus. Everyone I have spoken with since Marlowe died has been shocked to learn that testing is not standard.
Mixing puppies who may be sick with well puppies puts them all at risk, and without testing I doubt that the proper sanitization is occurring to prevent infection of future litters who use the same pen.
If the Humane Society had called us to tell us that another puppy in Marlowe’s litter had been diagnosed with parvo, we could have taken her in sooner to be tested and treated, and she might have survived. I am surprised and horrified to learn that they do not make those calls.
This practice needs to be changed. Puppies should be tested, and when shelters learn of positive cases after the fact, they should notify the people who adopted litter mates. Treatment is very expensive and the success rate is 50/50 at best, so people deserve as much information as you can give them.
I am curious to know if other shelters and rescues in the area are safe choices for Decatur families, knowing that I would never adopt another pet from the Atlanta Humane Society as long as they continue their practice of not testing for such devastating illnesses.
I also want you to know that the vets at Decatur Village Vets and the Animal Emergency Clinic of Decatur were amazing and compassionate. They really tried everything they could and were so kind and thoughtful with us in the process of treating Marlowe. We are so grateful to them and have recommended them to everyone we know.
I would be so grateful if you could help me raise awareness of this problem. I just want to help other people avoid the heartbreak that I’ve gone through this week. There is a picture of me and Marlowe attached. She was a wonderful puppy.
Thank you!
Amanda
I sent an email to the Atlanta Humane Society early yesterday requesting a response, but have yet to hear anything back.
so sorry to hear this, but unfortunately it happens. please don’t let your experience deter you from adopting. the same could occur at puppy mills, pet stores, and backyard breeders. it happened to me, but our dog survived. i would never, ever purchase a dog…..with all the abandoned ones out there. please find it in your heart once you recover from this bad experience to try again.
I do not know them and thus cannot recommend them, but there is a local group called Rufus Rescue which brings dogs and sometimes puppies to the Pet Supermarket in the Toco Hills Shopping Center on the weekends. I would see what you can find out about them?
I am SO SORRY to hear about what happened to Marlowe. I’m even more disappointed and horrified to hear that the AHS, where I got my own pets, was so rude and dishonest and uncaring.
Amanda, I am so sorry to read of your truly tragic experience. Please consider also sharing it with one of the local news investigative teams. Marlowe’s story is VERY newsworthy.
Does anybody know if the AHS is still run by the same outfit that was there for the whole pit bulls fiasco? If I recall correctly, the shelter manager resigned but the contract wasn’t affected. If so, there needs to be a swift “strike two and you’re out ” response by the ATL.
Deanne, I think you’re thinking of the Fulton County Animal Shelter and not the AHS.
Thanks altmod!
Looks like a bunch of dogs just don’t stand a chance in Atlanta &Fulton right now. I’m almost afraid to ask, but does anybody know the status of things here in Dekalb?
Maybe ALL Decatur Metro readers should bombard the media with Marlowe’s story!!!
I’d also like to recommend Harriet at Ruffus Rescue. We adopted our new puppy from them two weeks ago, and they were wonderful. Their puppies are typically fostered in people’s homes, and they are very careful not to expose puppies to any dangerous diseases. When we took our puppy to the vet this morning in Avondale Estates (where we live) they were very familiar with Ruffus and spoke very highly of them. You can find them at the Pet Supermarket in Toco Hills every Saturday and Sunday, or online.
My heart goes out to this family, and I will be sure to spread the word about AHS. What a shame that other families are going through the same thing because of AHS’s negligence.
Amanda, I am so, so sorry to hear that this happened to you. There is no excuse for how you and Marlowe were treated. Will definitely share your story with others. I’m interested to see if & how they respond to DMetro’s email.
I did want to chime in about Ruffus Rescue. We got our dog from them last summer. Harriet and everyone that works with her are just wonderful. I highly recommend them if you do decide to adopt again.
I am so sorry for your loss. One day when you are ready to try again, please consider adopting a retired racing greyhound. They are very loving and wonderful pets.
Basset Hound Rescue of Georgia always has sweeties, both young and old.
Thank you so much for helping to spread the word about this horrible practice. We still can’t believe this happened.
I did notice one typo in my e-mail, which is that I said we couldn’t have a puppy or a vaccinated dog in our house for 6 months to a year – I meant UN-vaccinated. Luckily our 8 year old dog (fully vaccinated) is doing just fine.
If anyone has contacts with the local news media, please share our story with them. I would be glad to talk with anyone who will listen. These policies should be changed to spare other families this heartbreak.
No contacts, but I did email my favorite investigative tv reporters about it and included this link. Hopefully, other folks will do the same.
I knew I wouldn’t be able to sleep, otherwise.
Amanda, I’m so sorry about your puppy. A few years ago, I rescued 3 puppies from Floyd Co. animal control (in northwest GA) All 3 ended up having parvo. When I took them to my vet (in Gwinnett Co.) they asked me where I got the dogs and said that they were required to report any parvo cases. I am shocked and saddened to find out that AHS would fail to at least notify the other people who adopted Marlowe’s littermates. I definitely think that you should pursue telling local news media this story.
I’m so sorry for the loss of your puppy. I adopted my own dog a year and a half ago from Atlanta Pet Rescue and had a great experience. All of his shots were up to date, and he’s been the most amazing dog (he’s my first dog)! The great thing about this shelter is that they update their website daily and it is VERY easy to navigate and see which dog you want. You can download an application and then go in a half hour before they open with the completed application in hand and you have a really good chance of getting the exact dog you want. I really wanted a Yorkie, but did not want to go to a breeder as there are so many animals out there who need to be adopted. I had no problem at all getting the best dog ever!. The shelter also gives you time to bond with the animals before you adopt them. A friend of mine was looking for a Pomeranian and I called her to tell her the dog was available, and she walked in a little early the next morning and had no trouble at all, either.
Good luck!
http://www.aspcapro.org/canine-parvovirus.php
From the ASPCA link above
“Routine general surveillance testing for the disease is not recommended. These antigen tests look for the presence of virus in the feces.
Parvo testing can present problems if the limitations of the tests are not understood. False negative results can be obtained because parvovirus is shed for a few days only or intermittently. Test results are most accurate if the test is administered the first few days after infection, or within 5 days after clinical signs appear. Weak positive results are often a result of recent vaccination with a modified live vaccine (within 5-12 days of vaccination). ”
It sounds like routine testing for parvo is not very successful – but failing to react to a known case would be inexcusable.
So sorry to hear this tragic story. We actually adopted a pup from the Atlanta Humane Society just over 2 weeks ago. We were told she had received treatment for Parvo before we adopted her. Since then, she has been very healthy and has been a fantastic addition to our family.
I’ve been to a few shelters in the area (some are very unsanitary and depressing) and, based on my experience, the AHS is one of the best. We’ve recommended the facility to many friends of ours who are looking to adopt. The AHS is a large operation; there are many adoptable pets there in need of caring homes. This single case should not cast a negative light on the facility as a whole, as I feel they provide an important service to this area. Though I’m disappointed in the way the AHS handled this case, I’m hopeful their practices will change in the future.
JB – out of curiosity, was the pup you had adopted part of a litter? Just wondering if there’s any possibility yours came from the same litter as Marlowe.
As far as I know, she did not have any brothers or sisters at the shelter, and her markings don’t resemble those of Marley pictured above, so I would reason to guess they are not from the same litter.
I’m not sure if it makes me feel better or worse that Marlowe wasn’t the only puppy to contract Parvo at that time at AHS. I’m so glad your pup is OK.
I agree that it is a very nice facility, and I have always trusted them. We got all of our pets when I was a child at AHS. I am surprised and disappointed that I still have not heard anything back from them in response to this situation.
This is a very upsetting story and I really feel for Amanda and her family, along with anyone else who has lost a dog to this awful disease. We have two dogs, both rescues, one adopted from AHS last year. We also use Village Vets. As Stacy notes, the value/effectiveness of parvo testing for shelter dogs is debatable, but if AHS said they were doing it, they should be able to back that up. What is not debatable is that once parvo was discovered in a dog they adopted out, they should definitely have taken the initiative to notify other dog adopters, especially those who adopted from that same litter.
But just to provide a balanced perspective, as JB notes, AHS is still one of the better shelters operating in the Atlanta metro area. My wife did her senior engineering design project there when she was at Ga. Tech a few years ago, and got to see inside their operation for several months. Obviously, they are no-kill, which is still a rarity in this state (someone asked about Dekalb’s shelters…trust me, you don’t want to know). AHS is very, VERY engaged in determining who is a suitable pet adopter and who isn’t. When we were there adopting our dog, I saw two potential adopters turned away because they indicated that they wanted a dog for security and/or planned to keep it outside. I also know for a fact that they make good on their promise (insistence, actually) to take back pets that are not a good fit, as this was the situation with our neighbor.
When we adopted Lyra, our second dog, we were very concerned about how she would get along with our first. They gave us plenty of opportunity to introduce them to each other and did not place any pressure on us to make a decision, despite the fact that there were like eight other families in line behind us to adopt her. While this was happening, it was determined that Lyra had kennel cough. AHS isolated her immediately and treated her for two weeks, wanting to make sure she was well before she would be adopted out to us. There’s no doubt in my mind that they had her (and our) best interests at heart.
Which is why Amanda’s story is especially hard to hear. I’m hoping this is an isolated case and that they will recognize their mistake and adjust their procedures. I also hope that people won’t shun them because they still are one of the most responsible places taking in and adopting out rescued animals.
This is truly a sad story – I would hope that the AHS will respond and provide an update as we have a dog that we adopted from there almost a year a go and had the best experience, they even include a free vets visit and check up and cover the cost of any issues that come up during that initial visit so I am surprised to hear that they were so unhelpful and also not concerned with the well being of other animals as that is not the impression we received from going there and talking to several staff members and volunteers – they seemed to have the animals health and welfare as a top priority. I would not let one negative story put anyone off adopting from ASH (or other organizations) that complete thousands of adoptions a year.