Hi: I purchased a 3 months old maltese on July 1st. Right after I brought her home she was sick. Brought her to the vet and was told she tested positive for parvo. Brought her back to where I purchased her. Cleaned the house as best I could with the bleach and bought new crate, toys, dishes and blankets. Purchased a yorkie puppy on July 21. After 6 days she stopped eating. By night time she had vomited so I took her to the vet hospital. She tested strong positive for parvo. My question is when is it perfectly safe to get another puppy or should it be a year old dog? I had read so many conflicting articles about this. We didnt keep the second puppy for fear if she survived and came back she would get it again.

I really hate to come down hard on any person, but I don’t like your story. Let’s sum up what’s been going on.

You purchased a puppy, and I’m guessing you didn’t check her origin to confirm that she came from an ethical source, since she had parvo when you adopted her. Therefore I suspect she came from a puppy mill. After diagnosing your puppy with parvo, you decided not to treat her but instead dumped her back off at the pet store to possibly spread parvo to the other puppies and then probably die. You next purchased another puppy and brought it into your parvo-contaminated home. The puppy caught parvo, and you again dumped the dog back at the pet store rather than treat it.

Your house is hopelessly contaminated with parvovirus. Any puppy that comes into your house will contract the disease. Parvo persists in the environment for at least two years, and for safety’s sake you should assume that your house is contaminated forever. Do not ever get another puppy.

Adult dogs who are fully vaccinated should be immune to the virus. Either of the puppies, had you chosen to treat them rather than relinquish them, would have been immune to the virus if they recovered.

If you insist upon getting another dog, make sure it is an adult that has received all of its vaccines. But before you do that, you might want to ask yourself whether you’re dedicated enough to be a dog owner.

Photo credit: Seeteufel.