A mother has urged dog owners to pick up their waste after her puppy contracted a deadly disease and needed £4,000 worth of treatment to save his life.
When Emma Rogers, from Beccles, purchased now 18-week-old Ted, he didn't leave her side. The mother-of-two would take the Springador to work with her, go for long country walks and for paddles in the sea.
"Since day one he gave that unconditional love and campanionship," Mrs Rogers said.
Last Friday, she noticed Ted was acting differently - he struggled to hold himself up and was shivering uncontrollably.
"I said to my husband 'something is not right with our dog'. I rushed him to the vets and his temperature was 40 degrees - he was in a lot of pain," she said.
After being prescribed a course of antibiotics and painkillers, Ted improved and the couple decided to embark on their planned trip to Ibiza - their first holiday together in 12 years.
Just days later, Ted's health deteriorated and he was rushed back to the vet by a family member.
"He couldn't hold his head up, he couldn't walk - he was dying really," she said.
As soon as Ted arrived at the vet, they took a swab of his blood-filled diarrhoea and tested it for Parvovirus.
The results came back positive despite being vaccinated and the puppy was taken into the care of the vet and then fed a £1,600 anti-viral drug.
As soon as they arrived back from the airport, the couple rushed to the vet and to their children's side. She said: "I needed him to know I hadn't left him, that he was still my pup."
While Ted is back to his mischievous self, the mother is urgingg pet owners to pick up their dog's mess, which is how the disease is spread.
She has also warned dog-owners to get their pets vaccinated as unvaccinated dogs are unlikely to survive the disease.
"To not pick up your dog your dog's poo is not acceptable. People need to start taking responsibility for their dogs," she said.
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