QueenScoopalot
05-20-2004, 06:55 PM
http://news.mainetoday.com/apwire/D82LM7600-139.shtml BANGOR, Maine A Bangor pet store is under quarantine for the second time this year after a dog sold at the store was found to be infected with the highly contagious parvovirus.
The virus affects dogsī digestive systems and can be fatal in young puppies, veterinarian Christine Fraser said. She recommended the Get-APet store at the Bangor Mall be quarantined to avoid spreading parvovirus to other animals. The store will stay open but canīt move dogs in or out until May 23.
Although humans canīt catch the disease, it can spread to other dogs and animals with weak immune systems, the veterinarian said.
Most dogs infected with parvovirus must be euthanized immediately, as was the dog sold at the Bangor store.
Sandy Porter of Bucksport bought the Pomeranian, which she named Mazie, as a gift for her mother, Grace Astbury.
"She was the cutest thing I ever saw," Astbury said. "I bawled for a week."
Porter said the employees at Get-APet had assured her that the dog was "perfectly healthy" when she bought it. Then the dog started acting sick and she took it to the vet.
Mazie and two beagle puppies that caught the virus all were euthanized.
The Get-APet store opened in December and was quarantined in January because of several dogs having cases of kennel cough, said Norma Worley, director of the Maine animal welfare program.
Get-APet President Arvid Dahlbloom said his company, which has two stores in New Hampshire and one in Bangor, gets all of its dogs from a USDA-licensed breeder. He said employees watch dogs for symptoms of the virus, but signs of the disease sometimes will not show up before the dog is sold.
The company gave the Pomeranian one of three parvovirus vaccinations before it was sold, Fraser said.
Maineīs Animal Welfare Program is investigating Get-APetīs protocol to prevent the spread of diseases, Worley said.
The virus affects dogsī digestive systems and can be fatal in young puppies, veterinarian Christine Fraser said. She recommended the Get-APet store at the Bangor Mall be quarantined to avoid spreading parvovirus to other animals. The store will stay open but canīt move dogs in or out until May 23.
Although humans canīt catch the disease, it can spread to other dogs and animals with weak immune systems, the veterinarian said.
Most dogs infected with parvovirus must be euthanized immediately, as was the dog sold at the Bangor store.
Sandy Porter of Bucksport bought the Pomeranian, which she named Mazie, as a gift for her mother, Grace Astbury.
"She was the cutest thing I ever saw," Astbury said. "I bawled for a week."
Porter said the employees at Get-APet had assured her that the dog was "perfectly healthy" when she bought it. Then the dog started acting sick and she took it to the vet.
Mazie and two beagle puppies that caught the virus all were euthanized.
The Get-APet store opened in December and was quarantined in January because of several dogs having cases of kennel cough, said Norma Worley, director of the Maine animal welfare program.
Get-APet President Arvid Dahlbloom said his company, which has two stores in New Hampshire and one in Bangor, gets all of its dogs from a USDA-licensed breeder. He said employees watch dogs for symptoms of the virus, but signs of the disease sometimes will not show up before the dog is sold.
The company gave the Pomeranian one of three parvovirus vaccinations before it was sold, Fraser said.
Maineīs Animal Welfare Program is investigating Get-APetīs protocol to prevent the spread of diseases, Worley said.