Expert Blames Dog Disease (Parvo) for Wolf Decline

[phantom power]

I had a puppy die from parvo a couple years ago. He'd had only the first of his vaccinations. Died right in my wife's lap, on the way to the animal hospital. Bad, bad disease.

January 07,2006 | BILLINGS, Mont. -- Most of the gray wolf pups born in Yellowstone National Park last year have died, possibly because of a dog disease, a federal wolf expert says.

Just 22 of the 69 pups born last year are still alive, said Doug Smith, the park's wolf project leader. That's the biggest drop in pup numbers since wolves were reintroduced to the park 11 years ago. The greatest toll was seen on the park's northern range, where only eight of the 49 pups born last spring survived.

(...)

During the next few weeks, he said, officials plan to catch Yellowstone wolf pups and take blood samples to see if his suspicions about the disease, parvo virus, are true. The disease can cause extreme diarrhea and dehydration and kill more vulnerable animals, like young pups.

(...)

Terry Kreeger, supervisor of veterinary services for the Wyoming Game and Fish Department, said that while parvo virus could have a noticeable effect for years on wolf populations like Yellowstone's, he doesn't believe it will be devastating.

It could, however, have implications for how wolves are managed, Smith said. The number of wolves in Yellowstone dropped last year from 171 to 118, he said. The largest single-year drop before that was 11 from 1998-99, when parvo virus also was suspected, he said.

http://www.salon.com/wire/ap/archive.html?wire=D8EVOHQ80.html

[yorkiemommie1]

1. it is bad - i am so sorry about your puppy

my neighbor's mini-dobie/chi mix who was up to date on his shots, still got parvo. he survived and is fine now, but he was very, very ill for a few days in the hospital.