'We try to ensure they are all healthy', say City Dogs Homes as pets die days after being re-homed
MANAGER Vickie Phillips has defended the City Dogs Home after two families came forward to say the dogs they rehomed died days later from a virus.
She says steps are always taken to ensure dogs at the home in Bucknall are in a healthy condition when they are taken in by families.
She has spoken out after Christine and John Moseley said their nine-month-old Alaskan Malamute Bear died from canine parvovirus.
The couple contacted The Sentinel after hearing how 43-year-old Paula McClelland's adopted Staffie-Labrador cross Bailey had to be put to sleep after contracting the highly-contagious disease.
Cheap Van Insurance For 17,18 & 19 Year Old Drivers - Call Insure365 01782 898188, Free Legal Protection Cover Included valued at £25.00!
Terms: 1 Voucher Per Customer
Contact: 01782 898188
Valid until: Monday, June 24 2013
But Vickie said it was very rare for their dogs to contract parvovirus.
She added: "People have to remember when they adopt a dog that it has come from a life on the streets.
"They are an unknown quantity and of course we try to spot any problems and our staff keep a close eye on the dogs for any health problems.
"They may never have been vaccinated before coming to us and it can affect them.
"A lot of people just want to grab the dog and go without reading all the relevant information.
"We do all we can to ensure our dogs are fit and healthy before being rehomed.
"Out of the hundreds of dogs that come to us one or two are bound to have the parvovirus and we take it very seriously.
"There are no animal sanctuaries that don't have these diseases from time to time."
However Christine, aged 63, said more should be done to ensure no other families go through the heartache of losing a dog to the virus.
The former pottery worker, of Saltdean Close, Normacot, bought Bear from the City Dogs Home in Bucknall for £100 but within days the puppy had gone off his food and was being sick.
She said: "It was just after Christmas and I felt that I could give a dog a good home so I went up with my daughter and granddaughter.
"As soon as I walked through the gates I spotted Bear and his eyes just said 'take me with you'. But a few days later it became clear he was ill.
"We took him to a vet who confirmed he had parvovirus.
"Bear spent 10 days in quarantine and was put on a drip but he still deteriorated.
"Sadly we were told there was no hope for Bear and had to make the heartbreaking decision to have him put down."The family had spent close to £3,000 on vet bills by the time Bear died in January including a £1,300 injection.
The money was eventually reimbursed by Pet Plan Insurance taken out at the shelter.
Christine said: "The virus can remain airborne for ages so we couldn't get another pet.
"We had to clean everything from the walls, floors, ceiling, furniture and driveway. Losing a pet is losing part of the family."
However, the dog shelter maintain that they had close contact with the family during that time.
4 Comments
by ratty64
Friday, February 22 2013, 10:16AM
“We had a 4 month old dog from here which also died from parvo. This was just before Christmas. We had him for 4 days before he became ill.He was treated for a week at the vets, but had to be put to sleep when his condition deteriorated. We did inform the dogs home when he was diagnosed with parvo, as he had been sharing a kennel with another dog.
Having since visited other kennels, we noticed a big difference in the rehoming procedures, and the way in which the dogs are assessed for health and character before letting them go to new homes.”
by bemused_stare
Friday, February 22 2013, 3:40AM
“What's also unfortunate is the name City Dogs Home which gives the place an air of public / third sector officialdom, when in fact it is a private enterprise, the emphasis is definitely on generating cash and the dogs are treated like assets. I'm not sure if it's the case now but only a few years ago there were collection buckets etc there - the inference that it is a charity. Just for the record, my father's just had a dog from there and that's needed treatment, and our old dog, which we had from there, had parvo which we had to treat elsewhere.”
by happy97
Thursday, February 21 2013, 4:21PM
“Yet again the City dogs home is in the news and for all the wrong reasons. Somthing must be done to stop this happening. Families want to help the dogs home by rehoming dogs but they would like those dogs to be healthy. This must be putting people of rehoming, so why not keep the dogs a little longer to ensure that they are healthy.”
by Amy87
Wednesday, February 20 2013, 9:46PM
“I really feel for you and can sympathise with the heartache that you have gone through.
Myself and my partner went through the exact same situation in November 2010.
We had our dog Pip from the dogs home and went through the heartache of losing her just 72 hours later. Pip was treated for parvovirus and we had to watch as she deteriorated in front of our eyes as we had to take her from one vets in the day, to another vets at night for continuous observation.
I have to disagree with comments made by the manager Vickie Phillips. Not all dogs in the dogs home are from the streets. Dogs are also taken there when their owners can no longer look after them for many reasons. Yes I understand that some dogs may not have had any injections before, but surely to ensure the health of the dogs before rehoming there should be a suitable incubation period? Pip had her first injection on the monday and came home the following day. That is not long enough! As for the comment on people just wanting to grab their dogs and go, my partner collected our dog and was basically given a pack to read, Pip on her lead and shown the door. I hope that the dogs home gave better aftercare to this family than we received. We called numerous times when Pip was taken poorly and sent 2 letters to which we have never had replies. At no point did Vickie or any of her staff contact us.
Our story was also covered by The Sentinel. From it being published I then heard from other families who had also rehomed poorly dogs from the dogs home. Some thankfully made healthy recoveries but others, like in our situation had to go through the heartache of losing their much wanted and loved dog.
Not only did we feel the hurt of losing our dog but it also made us angry. We felt the situation was not being recognised by the dogs home and contacted the local authorities to share our concern for the cleanliness of the kennels and for the safety of the other dogs.
It seems that it is not 'rare' for dogs to contract parvovirus after being at the kennels. Surely it is about time that more is done about it to prevent more dogs suffering and families heartache.”