You've
made the big decision to get a dog. You have everything in order;
you know the size dog you can handle given the size of your house/yard/apartment,
you've purchased bowls for food and water, and, with true civil
devotion, you've decided to get a shelter dog.
Now
the real chore begins: how do you select a dog from the shelter?
In some ways, your choices are going to be more limited; you won't
be able to guarantee getting a particular breed, so you don't have
to decide which breed is right for you. But at the same time, if
you're choosing between all the dogs in the shelter, you could have
quite a wide variety of options, indeed.
So
how do you go about selecting the perfect pup for your needs? First
of all, of course, what size are you looking for? If you live in
an apartment, you won't be able to get a great-dane sized dog. Know
the size you're looking for, and narrow your choices accordingly.
Second,
do you have any "special needs"? For example, do you have
children, other pets, or other dogs that the new family member will
have to get along with? Ask shelter workers which dogs will best
suit the needs of the rest of your family; in most cases, they'll
be able to tell you which dogs get along with other dogs, cats,
small children, etc.
Third,
don't be in a rush. Be willing to make more than one trip to the
shelter, to spend time with the dogs there and to develop a bond
with the one dog you think you can spend the next ten or fifteen
years of your life with.
The
first couple of trips, you may want to spend time with several dogs;
shelter workers are usually glad to make it easy for you to spend
time with dogs individually. On the third trip, you may narrow it
down to one, perhaps two dogs that you want to get to know better.
Don't take a dog home until you're certain it's the right one for
you; all too often, pet owners make snap decisions because a dog
is cute, and the dog ends up right back at the shelter in a matter
of months or even weeks.
Finally,
involve your kids, if you have them, in the selection process. Let
them come with you and spend time with each dog, as well. Their
word should never be final, but do listen to them and get input
from them about which dog they think you should take home. After
all; a new dog is a member of the whole family--not just a part
of it.
Parvo is SO contagious that at the vet I worked at, we would keep Parvo puppies in isolation, with a solution of "Parvosol" (Parvovirus disinfectant) in a shallow dish with towels to step in so that none of the virus would be tracked to the rest of the hospital. We would then spray down the entire exam and watiting room, including anything the puppy's owner's may have touched.
It is extremely deadly. If untreated, there is more than a 50% chance that the puppy will die from dehydration and infection.
If treated, the puppies usually have an almost 90% chance of pulling through when the disease is caught early enough.
It is the saddest, stinkiest disease ever, bloody diarrhea everywhere, the puppies sick and still wanting attention, poop caked to their tails, IV lines coming out of their tiny arms, all alone in an isolation ward for days.
The vet I worked for charged usually around $500 minimum for a 4-5 day stay. That is the CHEAPEST I have ever seen. The puppies require round the clock IV fluids with vitamin and glucose supplements, anti-vommitting drugs, antibiotics, etc.
Please please please get your puppy vaccinated, do NOT allow him around other dogs until he is fully vaccinated, and keep up with the vaccine schedule (every 3 weeks).
Did you know know that Dawn dish soap is highly effective in killing fleas. When I worked at a pet salon in another state the dogs that were highly infested with fleas were given a dawn dish soap bath- worked every time. The soap is WAAAYYY milder than the pesticides and harsh chemicals that are in all the other traditional flea shampoos. Especially for the babies we treated. I would much rather want the fleas on my animal killed with dish soap that that stuff.