Community donations sought to help two sick dogs rescued last week from a hoarder in Riverside

The Mission Viejo Animal Services Center is seeking donations to help treat two of seven dogs diagnosed with parvo that were rescued from a hoarding situation in Riverside.

Last week, the center rescued seven out of 113 dogs that were kept with a hoarder in a small townhouse in Riverside. On Monday, two – Schmango and Fergus – of the seven pups tested positive for parvo, a disease that could’ve be avoided with proper, inexpensive vaccination.

MVAS has not had a parvo case in more than five years, so these pups were exposed before arriving to the center. 

“The dogs are currently being treated, and we are doing everything we can to get them through this,” said Animal Care Supervisor Brynn Lavison. “We are extremely lucky to have our non-profit DAWG that raises money for situations just like this. Treating parvo is very expensive, but DAWG has generously committed to helping these pups; however, we could use the help and time is of the essence for these poor pups.”

The situation could have easily been avoided if the previous owners of these young dogs simply vaccinated them to protect them from the disease. All seven were vaccinated as soon as Mission Viejo rescued them, but unfortunately, they had already been exposed to parvo so the vaccine was too late. 

DAWG and MVAS are hoping these two pups are strong enough to fight this terrible disease and that none of the other dogs get sick. 

Their treatments will be expensive, so if you would like to help support them, please keep them in your thoughts and donate to DAWG in the hoarding puppies’ names - Schmango and Fergus.