If you are a lover of dogs, often called a man’s best friend, the Lee County Domestic Animal Services (LCDAS) urges you to get your dog vaccinated because of a rapidly spreading Parvo virus that can be fatal.

Ria Brown, the director of public relations, said this weekend that the shelter has seen a rise in Parvo cases among stray dogs and puppies in the community.

“It is so important for people to get their dogs inoculated, that we are putting out news releases to get the word out,” Brown said.

She said it is a highly contagious disease that is expensive to treat and often it can be fatal even with treatment.

The LCDAS veterinarian, Dr. Suzanne Vazzana, said dog owners should not ignore the warning.

And Whitney Whitford of Animal Medical Center of Lehigh and president of the Calusa Veterinary Medical Society also urges puppy owners to see their veterinarian to get vaccinations. He said the vaccinations should begin at six to eight weeks of age. Then there are boosters given every three weeks until the puppies are 16 weeks old.

Brown said she didn’t know the price of the vaccinations. She said the shelter does not perform them for the public.

She urged dog owners to contact a veterinarian and ask price ranges. If the price seems high, she urged dog owners to shop around at lower cost veterinarian offices.

Brown said the shelter has seen a rise in the summer and more cases in the off season.

She said that if owners do what their vets recommend, it should provide protection against what they are calling a deadly virus.

“It is not an epidemic but it is getting worse,” Brown said.

The Parvo virus is spread from dog to dog by direct or indirect contact with their feces, according to a news release put out by the Lee County Domestic Animal Services.

According to Richard Stowey on Flickr online, Parvo is a common and potentially serious viral disease that is officially known as Parvovirus and is commonly come to known as Parvo.

It first appeared clinically in 1978 and there was a widespread epidemic in dogs of all ages.

But since no dogs had been exposed or vaccinated because the vaccine didn’t exist at the time, dogs of all ages died due to the infection.

The virus can “adapt” over time, and other strains of the virus have appeared since then, but properly administered vaccinations are the best protection. Canine Parvovirus is thought to be a mutation from the feline Parvovirus, also known as Feline Distemper virus.

Common signs that dog owners may watch for include severe vomiting and diarrhea. Parvo virus can live in organic matter such as soil for more than a year and victims of the virus die of dehydration as the virus attacks the intestinal lining, according to Whitney Whitford of animal medical Center in Lehigh.

“There is nothing worse to watch a pet that you love to go through this,” said Ria Brown. “It is a sad thing to watch happen.”

That is one of the reasons that the Animal Services agency has taken such a proactive role.

“We vaccinate all dogs that come into our shelter against the Parvo virus. The shelter is located at 5600 Banner Drive in Fort Myers.

Other signs to look for include lethargy, loss of appetite and “intussusception.” This is when a section of the inflamed intestinal tract telescopes into itself. This is an emergency, according to officials. The onset of clinical signs are usually immediate, often 12 hours or less. The incubation from exposure to seeing the clinical signs varies from three to 10 days.

“It’s important to get your puppies to a veterinarian and get the shots,” said Brown.

The disease is especially severe in puppies that are not protected by maternal antibodies or vaccination.