FORT WORTH, Texas — A North Texas family says a dog they adopted at the Fort Worth animal shelter died of parvo less than 48 hours after they brought him home.
Gary Myers and his wife, Shelly, went to the Fort Worth shelter after seeing a WFAA report about overcrowding at the facility.
For one weekend, the city offered $10 adoptions to try and reduce numbers.
More than 100 dogs were adopted, and one of them went home with the Myers.
"The pup didn't have a name so we named him Texas," Myers said.
Myers said the dog appeared to be healthy and they weren't warned of any symptoms. They took the dog home Sunday night and bought him a new bed. He said he felt attached to the animal the moment he walked out the door with him.
"They're your kids at that point," Myers said.
But the next morning, Myers said that Texas began throwing up. At first, they thought he was just getting used to new surroundings, but the problem continued and got worse through the day. He said he took the dog to his veterinarian who diagnosed the illness as parvo, a highly-contagious virus that can be expensive to treat. Myers felt the shelter should help pay for the treatment.
"I haven't had this dog very long," he explained.
The City shelter said they could not treat the animal unless Myers agreed to turn it back in and give it up, something he was unwilling to do.
"No, we loved this dog," he said.
He left Texas at the vet for treatment, but sadly the dog did not survive. He died on Tuesday evening.
Wednesday, the Fort Worth Animal Shelter said they never want this kind of outcome for families that adopt. They said they examine dogs and provide vaccines, including parvo, when they're admitted to the shelter. But it is possible that animals are already infected, and there's little that they can do.
"It's out there in the environment," said Dr. Tim Morton, assistant director of Fort Worth Code Compliance for animal welfare.
"There's no way to guarantee that an animal doesn't have parvo or anything else," Morton explained.
The shelter offers insurance programs and a free veterinary visit for animals that are adopted, and they say that all dogs are at risk of potentially having parvo, whether they are adopted from a shelter or purchased any other way.
Myers said he is worried that if his dog had the virus, other dogs at the shelter could have been affected too.
"My concern is the dogs that are being adopted now are not being tested," he said.
WFAA asked Morton about those concerns, and he said they do not believe there is a parvo problem at the facility. They have had no signs of other affected dogs, and because there are no symptoms, the animals cannot be tested.
"We don't test for parvo because you can't test for that until they're symptomatic," Morton said.
Myers is frustrated by the situation and believes the shelter should have offered more help. But he said he would be willing to adopt a pet from a shelter again.
It will take time before he takes that step because this loss has been a hard way to learn of a rare risk.