A woman has warned of a deadly disease in the region following the death of her puppy just days after she bought her.

%image(14665221, type="article-full", alt="Her owners "did everything they could" to save the Jack Russell. Picture: Contributed by Charlotte")

When Charlotte saw a post on Gumtree of a puppy Jack Russell, she couldn't contain her excitement.

The 20-year-old from Beccles had just moved into her new property and wanted to celebrate the milestone achievement with the first dog of her own.

She welcomed the happy and healthy puppy into her home, named her Lottie and the young family instantly fell in love.

She "never thought" anything would be wrong with the 10-week-old dog and was told Lotti was healthy by her vet.

"I thought I would book in her jab, and keep her away from other dogs and she would be fine. I took her to the vet and they said she was perfectly healthy," she said.

Following Lotti's vaccinations, her health worsened and Charlotte contacted the emergency vet services.

"After two days, she got really sick. She was vomiting, she had faeces that were normal but then she had diarrhoea. She couldn't keep down any water or food.

"They told me to bring her in, we took her to the vet and she went down hill straight away," she said.

At that point, Lottie was diagnosed with canine parvovirus, an highly infectious disease which attacks the cells in a dog's intestines and stops them from being able to absorb vital nutrients.

"It is not something they recover from - it is so aggressive," she added,

"It is a negative time, but you can't dwell on it. I tried everything to help her but there is nothing more I could do.

"I don't regret buying her, but I don't think I will get another puppy for a while - she was so sick.

In a post on Facebook, Three River Vets said: "We have had a confirmed case of parvovirus originating from Beccles. We'd like to remind everyone about the importance of vaccinating against this potentially deadly disease and making sure those vaccines remain up-to-date. If you have any concerns that your dog may have parvovirus, please contact your veterinary surgeon immediately for advice."