Dog died suddenly

[jnvapor]

A stray dog shoed up on my doorstep at 1:00 pm. He was weak cold and shivering wet. I took him in the house and dried him off, put him in a crate with a blanket and made him comfortable. He wagged his tail and layed down. As time went on he seemed to be getting weaker and wobbly and he started drooling little foamy drool in the corners of his mouth. His body temperature fell cold still so I put him in an electrci heated bed. At 6:30pm he passed a small bloody stool that smelled of decay. He got really still after that. at 7:20 pm he died. Could this dog have had Parvo? It is winter and it has been really cold with freezing nights but there have als  been warm days. I am scared of my dog getting something from this dead dog. The animal control tried to tell me the dog looked old and just died from old age.and old dogs never get Parvo. If they don; have it by the first year they dont get it. I disagree. I understand this is a very contagious diease and affects all ages. What could this dog have died from and should I be concerned for my other dog's health?

[heartfluttersflyawayplz]

wow, jndie do you know this person? she live near you so that you can say all of this and if true why is it going on. she needs to be turned in if this is true.  if not am sorry shes getting a bad rap

[jndie]

you guys are all fooled by this "so called" hero, what she failed to tell you is that shes killed over 30 dogs and has 17 cats hordering and beats them, she has a serious problem, because of this she writes such bogus things on the internet to cover her tracks. wake up!

[ginger899]

He wagged his tail at you. He said his thanks. Then he died. You did your best, and that was good.

Parvo virus (un-treated) has a bad reputation for sticking around for a VERY long time. I have heard it can even remain on the ground where an affected dog has defecated, for longer than you might imagine! I know it is at least weeks, it could even be longer. I don't know whether it stands up to below-freezing temperatures. But as some infectious agents do survive low temperatures, I would definitely check this. I am pretty sure boil-wash, or very high temperature washing would knock it out though.

[jnvapor]

Thanks everybody for your support. it was a scary thing to bring him in the house but we are in the middle of winter and he deserved more.
My own dog had a booster shot one year ago. I called my vet as advised and he said at this point we are in a 'wait and see' period if it was Parvo. if my dog comes down with symptoms i will immediately bring him in to the vet. Had I known the degree of illness of this dog I would have brought him into my garage instead of the house, but what's done is done. I bleached everything in the back bedroom where he was including the carpet. Good thing it was light colored so it doesn't show too bad. Oh well, better have carpet replacced than a sick dog. I took the crate and beeding outside where the bedding has been sent to the trash bin. The crate is outside in a snow storm as we speak where it will stay for the rest of winter. By spring it should be fine. (it's made of metal)
Although I feel guilty at exposing my own dog to unknown illnesses (and knew better),I just couldn't ignore another animal suffering. I have adopted 8 feral cats and it was while I was outside checking on my feral cats, to make sure they were warm and dry in the snow, that I found the dog. I love animals and cannot turn away any that need my help. I also have 5 house cats!
Thanks again!

[dominosarah]

What a wonderful thing you did for this dog.......sara

[peekawho]

Ginger gave excellent advice.

I'm touched also that you took this dog in and made him comfy in his final hours.  You are obviously a kind person, and you have my admiration for what you did.

As ginger said, don't freak.  Call your vet and ask if your dog is in danger.  Cleaning with a bleach solution (not sure of the concentration needed, be careful) will be needed, as will laundering any bedding with very hot water.  

Good luck, and thank you for what you did for that stray dog.  

[ginger899]

It was kind and decent of you to take in this stray dog, and give him warmth and shelter and comfort in his last few hours. It is possible, because of his state of health, that he had been 'dumped' by his owners, maybe out of a car.
It is irresponsible and ignorant of the animal control people to say that because he was old, he couldn't contract Parvo! Parvo, as you quite rightly said, is no respecter of age, and it is HIGHLY infectious. It is possible that this dog had Parvo, yes. But you wouldn't know for sure without testing done on any stool sample (which I am sure you didn't keep! And even if you did, would have to be handled VERY carefully!)

But befor you start to panic, -has your dog had his regular shots, and yearly boosters? If so, I believe it will be protected. If not, get immediate advice from your vet ASAP!
However, the Parvo virus can linger for ages, and you could easily pass this on, through contact, to another dog, or especially puppies which have not yet been vaccinated. You are going to need to do a MASSIVE and very thorough clean-up, and immediately.
As I am not quite sure which cleaning products you have to use, you could contact Ghilly (on this forum.) You could send her a personal message.She would undoubtedly know exactly what you must do, but of course, you may have to wait for an answer. You could also try doing a search on this forum, using 'Parvo virus' as a keyword, as I remember something being posted not long ago about the right cleaning methods.
I would burn any bedding/blankets/etc RIGHT NOW which came in contact with the dog. I don't know if very hot washing with certain cleaning stuff would remove the virus from any clothing, etc, or not. You will have to check this.
I would also definitely speak to your vet about this, and ask for his advice.