"It's highly contagious to many types of dogs. It's not contagious to cats," said Annette Lagunas, Director of Operations for HSOY. "Cats, though they have their own viruses, they are not susceptible to the k9 Parvo virus that we're seeing now," she said.
According to the Humane Society of Yuma Parvo virus cases in dogs have noticeable increased in the last few weeks. They say there is always a spike this time of year.
"They say Yuma doesn't get cold enough to truly kill the vaccination through out the year," said Lagunas. "So we see it all year around but there's times when it gets worse and right now it just seems to be worse," she said.
The Parvo virus only affects dogs. However, it can be externally carried by humans or any other object before eventually infecting your four legged friend.
"Even us can bring it home on our shoes, on our clothes," said Lagunas. "It's not an easy virus to kill. So… many of the household cleaners that you have will not kill this virus," she said.
HSOY officials want to educate the community about how to protect their pets and prevent this harmful virus from spreading any further.
"You definitely want to work with your veterinarian and ensure that your animal is fully protected before they go into the community or before you bring another animal into your home," said Lagunas.
Humane Society officials say some of the symptoms to look out for are dogs becoming lethargic, loss of appetite and diarrhea.
The Parvo virus can easily be prevented with a vaccination. If your pet is already infected it can be treated if caught at an early stage.
The Humane Society of Yuma offers Parvo virus vaccination for dogs at their spay-neuter clinic in Yuma located at 3780 South 4th Avenue, Suite H1. They offer vaccinations Tuesday-Friday from 12pm-2pm and the second Saturday of every month from 8am-10am. For more information call (928) 247- 9115.
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