A dog owner whose puppy caught a deadly virus while out walking in Ramsbottom has issued a stark warning to others.
Nine-month-old Bailey fell gravely ill just days after visiting Nuttall Park with his owner Roisin Reid.
Alarm bells started to ring on Christmas Day when the Shih Tzu-cross stopped eating and started to vomit.
As his condition deteriorated, Roisin decided to rush to pup to an emergency vet.
Bailey was given an anti-sickness injection but he continued to grow weaker.
It wasn’t until he visited vets for a second time that his owned learned he had contracted parvovirus.
The highly infectious disease attacks cells in dog's intestines and stops them from being able to absorb vital nutrients.
Bailey spent days isolating at a veterinary hospital and his devastated owners were unsure whether he would pull through.
Thankfully, the pup responded well to his treatment and was able to return home on Wednesday (December 30).
Roisin, 26, said: “He is still unwell but will survive.
“However, he has to isolate for a good few weeks to ensure he doesn’t spread this virus onto other dogs.
“We are thrilled to say the least, he still has a good way to go to be back to his bouncy self but we are on the right path, thank God.
“We are one of the lucky ones!”
Parvovirus spreads through direct contact with an infected dog or by indirect contact with a contaminated object.
A dog is exposed to the virus every time it sniffs, licks or consumes infected faeces.
Roisin claims there are few other parvovirus cases within the Ramsbottom and Bury areas.
She continued: “There’s obviously been dogs that aren’t vaccinated and have the virus that have gone to the toilet on the grass in the park or on the road.
“All it would have taken is for Bailey to sniff it and it go in that way.
“Dogs are dogs, they eat grass sometimes, that’s how he could have got it.
“With coronavirus out there, it’s already unsettling knowing it’s a human virus. But to know we’re in a high category area for a dog virus – it's just horrific.”
