If you bought a puppy in the Hoosick Falls area this summer, check its parvo shots

The case itself is a sad one. On September 5, nine dogs were seized from a home on Center Street in Hoosick Falls after two puppies that had been sold from the house died of canine parvovirus. The building was closed for code violations. A man and a woman living there were charged with five counts of failure to provide proper sustenance, one count of selling or exposing a diseased animal, and obstruction, according to CBS6. Those are allegations and the case is pending.

The public-health part is what matters for the rest of the county. Parvo is a hardy virus that spreads through feces and contaminated ground, survives for months outdoors, and is often fatal in puppies that have not finished their vaccine series. Puppies from a single litter get sold across a wide area, and the buyers do not necessarily know each other.

Mohawk Hudson Humane Society responded with a free clinic in Hoosick Falls in mid-September that vaccinated 73 dogs and five cats. Mayor Dan Schuttig urged every owner in the village to make sure their animals are current.

If you brought home a puppy from anywhere in the area this summer, call your vet and confirm the parvo series is complete, usually three shots between 6 and 16 weeks with a booster a year later. Adult dogs need current boosters too. Symptoms are sudden lethargy, vomiting and bloody diarrhea; a puppy with those signs needs a vet the same day. And if the breeder could not show you vaccine records, assume there were none.

Sources: CBS6’s September 9 report on the seizure and charges, and WNYT’s report on the Mohawk Hudson Humane Society clinic. The defendants are not named here under this site’s policy on private individuals in pending cases. Vaccine guidance is the general veterinary standard; your vet’s schedule governs.