This October, Nepean Community & Neighbourhood Services (NCNS), Greencross Vets (Coreen Ave), the RSPCA, Penrith City Council and University of Sydney Vet students, came together to hold two Pet days in Cranebrook & Kingswood Park in an effort to work towards a Parvo Free Penrith.
What is Parvo?
Parvovirus (Parvo) is a highly contagious and deadly viral disease in dogs that affects the intestine and/or heart.
What are the symptoms?
- Severe vomiting
- Blood in stool
- Loss of weight
- Loss of appetite
- Lethargy
Why is it important to vaccinate against Parvo?
Parvovirus can live for up to 1 year in its environment and can be spread through the faeces of infected dogs. There is no drug that can kill parvovirus once it is inside a dog’s body and death rates of dogs with parvovirus are high.
The best defence against Parvo is to ensure dogs are vaccinated.
When to vaccinate?
Greencross vet’s website recommends vaccinating dogs at:
- 6 to 8 weeks of age
- again at 10 to 12 weeks old
- again at 14 to 16 weeks old
- a booster vaccination yearly for the rest of their life
How are we helping to stop the spread of Parvo?
On Saturday 5th October at the Cranebrook Pet Day, an amazing 74 animals owned by local community members received health checks and/or vaccinations.
This year we were thrilled to welcome Penrith City Council Animal Services on board who were able to make sure all of the adorable pets that attended the day were microchipped. This is so important so that if our furry family members ever wander off, the owners could be easily identified, and pets can be brought home safely to their families.
Not only were the pets given health checks, but we were also fortunate enough to be given incredible donations from Pet Barn, RSPCA, SecondBite and also from Marlene, a Penrith community member. Local pet owners were really grateful to receive these donations.
On Saturday 12th October, the North Penrith Community Centre in Kingswood Park opened its door to the animals of Penrith. On this day we saw over 60 animals, dogs and cats come through to receive their yearly health check-up, including vaccinations and micro-chipping.
We even had a young budding vet in the form of one of our KP Kids who visited on the day.
We would like to thank everyone who was involved. These days are made possible because of the vets, vet nurses and students who volunteer their time to help stop the spread of Parvo and to ensure that our pets live a long, happy and healthy life.
