Friends of Oakland Animal Services is asking for the public’s help to save the life of a special puppy and others like him. Frodo, a Border Terrier, contracted parvovirus (parvo), a highly contagious and often fatal illness in puppies.
Historically, the city’s public shelter has not treated the disease, which can be cured with intensive vet care provided in isolation from the rest of the shelter population, but now that policy is changing. Under the shelter’s new director, Rebecca Katz, some puppies with a fighting chance will receive the extensive and expensive veterinary care required to treat parvo.
Frodo was adopted the last weekend in May, during Maddie’s Pet Adoption Days, a special program that pays adoption fees and gives further financial support to shelters. The pup’s adopters had been eager to take him home, but while he was waiting to get neutered, he contracted Parvo from another dog. Unsure if he would survive and uncertain about the cost of treatment, his owners surrendered him back to the shelter.
Approximately 6,000 animals come through Oakland Animal Services’ doors every year, and the shelter’s veterinary staff provides the best medical care possible for them in the shelter’s facility. However, the city’s general fund budget won’t cover those with severe injuries or with illness that require extensive treatment. For those special cases, OAS seeks support from Friends of Oakland Animal Services, the shelter’s nonprofit partner, to provide care through local veterinary hospitals.
Now Friends of Oakland Animal Services (FOAS) is calling on the public to help making saving these puppies possible. “The public can make a donation to our emergency medical fund, specifically to help Frodo and other puppies like him,” says FOAS board member Emily Fox. The treatment for parvo often can run up to $5000 per pet.
Shelter director Rebecca Katz says, “We think treating the animals that have a decent prognosis is absolutely the right thing to do. Just look at this puppy. He deserves a fighting chance at life.”
The public is encouraged to donate to Friends of Oakland Animals Services’ Emergency Medical Fund at https://www.crowdrise.com/foasemergencymedicalfund/fundraiser/friendsoftheoaklanda
