It has been a very rough year for us with dealing with parvo puppies. Five litters so far have come in having picked up the virus from on the streets or at their animal control shelters. We don’t usually see so many litters with parvo cases in just a few short months. But this morning, we lost our fourth pup of the year to the virus. Davidson had been at the ER vet overnight along with his littermate, Phoebe. We sent them and Marley to our regular vet for continued treatment, hoping for the best, knowing the worst may come. No matter how many littermates suvive the virus with each treatment, it still tears me up each time I lose one.

Why does this keep happening? Why do we keep getting sick puppies? Well, let’s start off with the number one reason: people are not spaying and neutering their animals. It’s not a difficult concept to grasp, and low-cost spay options are available, espcially through our local SNAC clinic. But why aren’t people doing this? Profits from puppy sales, long-held beliefs that spaying is cruel, and men who are insecure about their manhood refusing to allow their male pets to be neutered.

Past the obvious reason, what else is there? Moms that are not properly vaccinated have no immunities to pass on to their babies. We saw a case just a week ago of a purebred puppy bought from a CKC registered breeder that died from parvovirus. If mom was properly immunized and the puppies properly vaccinated as the family had been promised, then there should have been no issue. Even after having been notified about the parvo puppy, the breeder sold the remaining eight puppies (an independent third party called over the weekend to check).

So we have the problems with reproduction and negligent care. What’s left? The external environment in which the pups are raised. All our puppies come from local animal control shelters. These shelters are several decades old in most cases and completely run down. Only routine maintenance is done, and most cleaning methods are ineffective as the buildings harbour viruses so well. Add to that a climate that never experiences a hard freeze to kill parasites.

Our job as rescuers is to save as many lives as possible. We know the risks with accepting puppies, but our choice is to either accept that risk or stop taking them at all. At this point, we have over $1,000 in vet bills for the three puppies that started aggressive treatments last night. So while we are diligently trying to give them a second chance at life, the costs to do so mean we can’t accept other pets that will also need care.

So we push on, praying for the survival of our pups and hoping people will stop purchasing pets that fuel these profit-seeking breeders and instead look.

*Donations are very much in need right now. Every little bit makes a difference. Please consider making a donation towards our puppies today.*

With all the recent stories from around Georgia and the Lowcountry involving law enforcement officials doing horrible things to our four-legged friends, we would like to take this opportunity to tell you about two local agencies that are doing something positive.

Last Friday, Sgt. Salas and three handlers from the Chatham County Sheriff’s Department K-9 Unit donated 20 pavers for our kennels at the ranch. The guys showed up very early in the morning and unloaded the pavers and even gave the pups some extra attention. Sgt. Salas said they were happy to help a group so dedicated to helping homeless pets.

Yesterday morning, Tybee Island Police Department went out of their way to take care of an elder pet that had been hit by a car. The poor animal had no tag or microchip, and after they were turned down by animal control to pick the pet up for transport, one of the officers called CPR’s president directly. We made arrangements with our vet to have the pet stabilized until the owner could be located. One of the officers drove the pup all the way to Crossroad Animal Hospital. We initiated an email blast throughout Tybee, and the owner was located and reunited that afternoon. Thank you, TIPD, for showing such compassion.