Santa Barbara Humane offering free parvovirus vaccines for dogs in Santa Maria

SANTA MARIA, Calif. - Santa Barbara Humane is now offering free parvovirus vaccines for dogs 1 years old and under at the Santa Maria location.

“All puppies should be vaccinated against this. We are seeing such a rise here in Santa Barbara County with the parvo cases. It’s very important that puppies are vaccinated early to they can stay healthy," said SB Humane CEO, Kerri Burns.

Parvovirus is a contagious virus that can be deadly.

“Some of the symptoms are they become lethargic, they don’t want to eat or drink, they run a fever. When you start seeing that, any type of blood in their stool, is a major indicator this could be the parvovirus," said Burns.

Santa Barbara Humane recently lost the life of a dog due to parvovirus.

Their goal is to help prevent the spread of the deadly virus amongst dogs.

“Please go take your pet to the vet. Get them checked once a year and make sure they’re up on their vaccines. It helps you to feel better about your pet and it helps the community too," said Burns.

For more information, click here.