A 3-Pound Warrior Overcomes The Odds, And Parvovirus
Jan 31, 2024
At only 3 pounds, Bonbon's a heavyweight champ after winning the battle for his life.
Tough as he is, he wouldn’t have survived without a groundbreaking medical treatment, and an innovative partnership between PAWS Chicago and Chicago Animal Care & Control.
CACC and PAWS Chicago, one of the largest No Kill animal welfare organizations in the nation, recently joined forces to develop a comprehensive public-private program—called PAWS 360@CACC—providing lifesaving resources to Chicago’s homeless and at-risk cats and dogs.
These new programs at CACC will offer 360-degree support for animals at every stage in their shelter journeys—from intake diversion to on-site adoption support, and from volunteer training to lifesaving medical treatment for parvo-positive puppies. Like Bonbon.
At just 8 weeks old, Bonbon was stricken with parvovirus, a highly contagious disease that preys on puppies and often ends their lives. Dogs who are symptomatic for parvo can’t be quarantined at CACC and due to the risk of outbreak, need to be transferred or euthanized.
As part of the new partnership, PAWS Chicago now transfers and treats all parvovirus+ puppies, and as many parvovirus+ adults as their Medical Center capacity permits.
At PAWS Chicago’s Medical Center, dogs will be able to receive a revolutionary new drug called Canine Parvovirus Monoclonal Antibody (CPMA). CPMA can completely transform a parvovirus patient in a matter of days – from barely able to lift their heads to running around as if nothing happened.
Bonbon turned out to be a great reminder of why even with a miracle drug, parvo patients still need a place like PAWS to survive this horrible virus.
He was already in a very fragile state when he got to PAWS and received the CPMA injection, but at least his uphill battle started with a boost. He spent the next 12 days on IV fluids and medication, seven days in an incubator, nine days on a feeding tube, received three blood transfusions, one red blood cell transfusion, and one whole blood transfusion. And through it all, he battled like a champion.
As soon as Bonbon was cleared from parvo, he was placed in a foster home, and best news of all, the foster officially foster-failed and welcomed Bonbon into her family!
PAWS Chicago saves pets like Bonbon every day. From parvo to broken bones to disease, Bonbon was just one of more than 20,000 animals that were treated at the PAWS Chicago Medical Center in the Little Village neighborhood. And many of them need foster homes to rest, heal, and sometimes trust people once again before they can be adopted.