BERKLEY (WXYZ) — "Just heart wrenching," said Deanna Berg about having to surrender her family's new puppy, Cinnamon, to a vet so that she could be treated for parvo, something Berg said her family could not afford to do.
She said the rescue she adopted the puppy from a day earlier told them they could not afford to pay for either.
"My son was devastated," said Berg.
Berg adopted Cinnamon on January 16 from No Dog Left Behind in Berkley. Not even 24 hours later, Berg was at a veterinarian with the puppy that was vomiting and she was told Cinnamon had parvo, a highly contagious virus that is deadly if not treated aggressively.
A day after the Bergs adopted Cinnamon, a different family adopted another puppy from the same rescue and that puppy, Jack, also became sick with parvo a day later.
Stacey and Sam Jerome operate the foster-based, non-profit rescue, and Stacey Krahe-Jerome told 7 Action News that they have no idea how the puppies contracted parvo, claiming the puppies were never at the same location.
Berkley police are investigating.
The State of Michigan does not license or inspect foster-based rescues, but they are now looking into No Dog Left Behind to make sure they have not been operating as an unlicensed shelter and to make sure that they are following the rules that pertain to bringing in dogs from out of state, which includes having dogs examined by a licensed veterinarian.
ReJoyceful Animal Rescue is now taking on the costs to treat Jack and they would like to bring Cinnamon into their rescue too, but their volunteers are still trying to get information on her from Wilson's Veterinary Hospital in Washington Township where Berg surrendered her in hopes that they would treat her parvo. Click here to help ReJoyceful cover Jack's treatment.
And click on the video to see more in Kimberly Craig's report.
