Parvo found in Portsmouth shelter pups

PORTSMOUTH, Va. (WAVY) - For the past two weeks, workers at the Portsmouth Humane Society have seen seven puppies come into the shelter with Parvo.

"Animal Control just kept bringing in these dogs," Jill Petrosillo with the shelter said. "They would be lethargic and it was seven dogs in the span of a week and a half."

Christie ChippsPeters, also with the shelter, says this is an abnormal amount in such a condensed amount of time. The puppies with the disease are coming in from Animal Control and are not been brought into the shelter until first tested in the truck, she says.

"It can be anywhere that another dog has been and you don't really know," Petrosillo said. "If they come in contact with that feces they can get it."

Shelter veterinarians who help treat instances of Parvo also note an increase of Parvo in pets brought into from the public.

ChippsPeters says the veterinarians believe it may have something to do with warm, wet weather in the area recently allowing the disease to spread more. This theory has not been substantiated, though.

Petrosillo says out of the seven puppies that have been brought in, four have died and three are currently quarantined.

Officials at the Portsmouth Humane Society say Parvo is preventable through booster shots. The disease can live in yards for up to seven years.