A valley dad had a special plan to surprise his wife and son with a puppy for Christmas, but it ended in heartbreak.
2-year-old McCartney and 8-week-old Banjo were buddies. Jason May bought the Border Collie puppy for his wife and son.
"We got him home on a Tuesday and he was just a little puppy, this guy had a new best friend, they were running around and it was great," said May.
By Friday, May said Banjo stopped acting like a puppy. He said the vet diagnosed Banjo with parvo.
Parvo is a highly contagious disease that attacks dogs' intestine or heart. May said he could not afford overnight care, so the vet instructed him on how to try and treat banjo on his own.He stayed up with him and force fed him fluids.
"He kind of died in my arms, so it was a pretty bum deal," May said. "And the hardest part is hearing him (his son) run around yelling 'Banjo' looking for his little buddy. So it was a sad situation."
May got Banjo at Cedar Animal Rescue, so we called them.
The owner, Bitsy McClain, said Banjo was fine when he left, and all the other puppies from the litter are ok.
She said she adopts pups out as early as four weeks, but usually more like six to eight---often before they've had their first set of vaccines.
Her adoption contract clearly states Jason is not entitled to any money back.
The NSPCA said they have never had anything like this happen, and wait until dogs are 12 to 14 weeks old so they can get their shots, including parvo, before they're adopted.
