Oprah Winfrey's Sick Puppy Goes Home

Share:

Tweet

Oprah Winfrey debuted 3-month-old Sadie on her daytime TV show March 6. (Photo Courtesy of Harpo)

Oprah Winfrey's Sick Puppy Goes Home: After nearly two weeks of veterinarian care, 3-month-old Sadie has returned home, making a full recovery from Parvo. Ivan, Sadie's brother, and Winfrey's second adopted puppy, died earlier this month.

NEW YORK -- One of Oprah Winfrey's puppies who was stricken by Parvovirus has been released from the emergency veterinary clinic, Winfrey's spokeswoman told Zootoo Pet News, the first media outlet notified, late Friday afternoon.

Sadie, a 3-month-old Cocker Spaniel, went home last Friday and is "doing really well," said her spokeswoman, who described Winfrey as "pleased."

Sadie was hospitalized, along with her brother, Ivan, several weeks ago at the Aboretum View Animal Hospital in Downers Grove, Ill. Both puppies fought to overcome Parvo, a contagious disease that affects only canines, as Zootoo Pet News previously reported.

Shelly Rubin, one of Winfrey's former veterinarians, said that he "know[s] that Sadie is eating and doing really well," he said.

"Once they [dogs] start doing that [eating] with this disease, it's considered a nice turn-around."

Ivan, the second puppy Winfrey chose to adopt from a Chicago rescue, died nearly two weeks ago from complications associated with the disease.

Winfrey, however, remained "hopeful that Sadie will pull through," as her spokeswoman previously said.

Rubin, of the Blum Animal Hospital in Chicago, said that he has not spoken to Winfrey since Sadie was released from the clinic, but that at the time, she was overjoyed by the situation's apparent happy ending.

"Nothing can be happier than saving a life, especially with a scary disease like that," Rubin said.

It is unclear where the puppies contracted Parvo, which attacks white blood cells and can cause intestinal problems, resulting in severe diarrhea, and subsequently, dehydration.

The disease frequently affects younger or older dogs with weakened immune systems.

The puppies' Chicago rescue organization, Pets Are Worth Saving, or PAWS, has maintained that Winfrey's puppies, like all of its animals, received all of their required immunizations before they were adopted in the beginning of March.

Following the sudden offset of his illness, Ivan was treated with a blood transfusion in mid-March, but the transfusion was not enough to sustain him. The puppy died over the weekend of March 14-15.

Winfrey said hat she was "saddened by his [Ivan's] passing," but continued to hold out for Sadie's recovery.