Oprah Winfrey’s new puppy Ivan dies

ohhhh
Oprah with some of her dogs on the cover of an on old issue of O Magazine.

Ophrah Winfrey is mourning the loss of another dog. This time she lost her new puppy Ivan, who she just adopted from a PAWS shelter in Chicago. Oprah actually adopted two puppies from the shelter: Ivan and Sadie. Ivan passed away from a parovirus common to dogs.

Oprah adopted the puppies after mourning for a year after the loss of her beloved Sophie. She had dedicated an episode of her show to Sophie’s passing. The other puppy, Sadie, has survived the virus thus far. PR Inside has more:

US TV talk show queen Oprah Winfrey is mourning the loss of her new adopted puppy Ivan – one year after her beloved 13-year-old dog Sophie died.

The media queen recently took in cocker spaniel puppies Ivan and Sadie from the PAWS Shelter in Chicago, Illinois – and even introduced Sadie to her viewers on the 6 March (09) episode of her daytime series.

But Winfrey lost Ivan last Wednesday (11Mar09) after the pooches both came down with parvovirus, a virus common to dogs which is fatal in nearly 80 per cent of cases.

Now Sadie is being treated by animal specialists in a bid to cure her of the canine disease, reports the New York Post.

The star says in a statement: “I’m saddened by his passing, though we had him for only a weekend. I remain hopeful that Sadie will pull through.” Winfrey’s cocker spaniel Sophie died in March 2008 of kidney failure.

From PR Inside

This is so sad, and I would imagine that Oprah is just devastated. She waited nearly a year after Sophie died to adopt again, and then this happens just a week after getting two new puppies. It sounds like they may have already been sick when she adopted them though. Most of the time, puppies don’t just magically come down with a virus and die within days. They’re usually sick for a little while. I wonder if the PAWS shelter knowingly gave Oprah puppies that were in sketchy health.

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32 Responses to “Oprah Winfrey’s new puppy Ivan dies”

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  1. pixiegirl says:

    Oh no! That’s terrible! I may have to take a break from the intertubes due to all the bad news as of late. In fact, I may take a break from TV too. There’s only so much bad news a person can take. I need a drink…

  2. Alexis says:

    I adopted a dog with Parvo virus. Shelters ABSOLUTELY KNOW when they are adopting out sick animals. In larger shelters policy is, generally, get the sick animal out so it doesn’t infect other animals.
    I’m not speaking ill of shelters. I can’t imagine that they have much of a choice, besides putting the animal down. The shelter we adopted our dog from provided medical care free of charge. Dogs have sbout a 50/50 shot with Parvo. Good luck Sophie!

  3. Alexis says:

    Oh, and our dog survived! She is now a 10 month old royal pain in the arse, and my daughter’s best friend.

  4. MonicaBee says:

    As a rule, shelters euthanize any animals that are ill. They don’t have the time, money or space to deal with sick animals, and they damn sure aren’t going to purposefully adopt out puppies with known fatal and highly contagious diseases.

    Parvovirus has an incubation period of 7-10 days. It’s possible the puppies got sick while they were at the shelter, but they may not have been showing symptoms until after they were adopted. It happens, especially when you’re dealing with stray animals that have no known history.

    That being said, I adopted my rottweiler knowing he had parvo; he was going to be euthanized and I wanted to try and help him. He turns three years old next month and is a big, strong, healthy registered therapy dog now. I also had Siberian husky that had parvo and she also did very well.

  5. Baholicious says:

    I don’t know where my comment went, but what I asked was weren’t these puppies vaccinated against Parvo beforehand?

  6. casey.in.co says:

    to monicabee: i don’t think that’s entirely true. my dog was sick when i first met him at the shelter. they kept him in a separate room from the other dogs, treated him for worms and multiple other ailments and wouldn’t even let me take him home until he was all better. so, maybe “as a rule” isn’t the right way of putting it.

    i’m sorry for anyone who goes through a loss like this. 🙁

  7. Sara says:

    Good God, woman! Her dogs die at the same rate my plants do. Maybe if she watered them from time to time?

    JK, that IS terrible and I’d say irresponsible if there’s foul play on behalf of PAWS. I know that if my kittie died, I’d be devastated. I don’t even want to imagine 3 dogs in a row.

  8. MonicaBee says:

    @casey.in.co
    If you go back and read my comment, you’ll see that I pretty plainly stated, puppies “aren’t going to purposefully adopt out puppies with known fatal and highly contagious diseases.” A dog with intestinal parasites (even coccidia or giardia) and/or kennel cough (bordetella), while contagious, is definitely not the same as parvo.

    Baho, if the puppies were already exposed to parvo, then vaccinating them wouldn’t do any good. And like anything else, vaccine are not 100%. My Siberian husky was fully vaccinated and 8 months old when she got parvo.

  9. Bodhi says:

    Oh no! Such sad news 🙁

  10. Jag says:

    Our local shelter vaccinates the puppies before they’re put in with the general population – or at least one of the vets did. Oprah should’ve immediately taken the puppies to the vet, and they should’ve been treated. This is bad on the shelter’s, and Oprah’s sides because they both should’ve known better.

    Parvo has to be treated immediately for the best survival rate.

  11. tropical mist says:

    That is so sad. My puppy just died of parvo last year… I witnessed him passing away, it was awful…

  12. nanster says:

    Jag – you just said what I was thinking.

  13. The Old KC says:

    That is so sad – I watched the episode a couple of Fridays ago when the puppies were on the show, and they were SO CUTE….made me want to go adopt a puppy immediately, even though I need one like I need a hole in the head right now. I hope the sis makes it.

  14. Annie says:

    Guh.

    How awful!

    I know I’d be sobbing right now. Just the thought of losing my little monster kills me.

  15. CeeJay says:

    I think all of this is awful sad and I feel for Oprah as I would anyone who loses a pet. That being said, I wonder if the fact that every aspect of her life is out front and passed on to the public makes things easier or harder? And, what kind of life do her dogs live? These pups were immediately put on a live set for a magazine shoot and then one of them was brought to her studio for a show taping in front of a live audience. That’s got to be an overload of “socialization” for any puppy let alone one that was fighting the Parvo virus Perhaps if she’d slowed down and let the pups adapt to their new lives in a less “public” fashion she, or her people, would have caught on to the illness sooner and had a better chance at survival. Or perhaps I am totally wrong and out of line, but wouldn’t all of this be a lot easier for Oprah to handle if she lived her life in a more private fashion?

  16. Orangejulius says:

    Perhaps, CeeJay. But none of that would have done any permanent damage to a healthy animal which is what she assumed she had. Very, very sad for her.

  17. Bisskitt says:

    I just adopted 2 kitties from PAWS this weekend. They are a WONDERFUL no-kill shelter who truly care about the health and welfare of each and every pet.

  18. Mimi says:

    very sad. the death of any pup is tragic. They bring such good to the world.

  19. Mimi says:

    ps Wow she looks fabulous in that photo

  20. eternalcanadian says:

    oh that’s awful. first i hear about martha’s dog now oprah’s dog. hope sadie makes it. sounds scary, this parvovirus.

  21. silver says:

    ….That’s got to be an overload of “socialization” for any puppy let alone one that was fighting the Parvo virus Perhaps if she’d slowed down and let the pups adapt to their new lives in a less “public” fashion she, or her people, would have caught on to the illness sooner and had a better chance at survival…

    I agree with you.

  22. Ohforf says:

    See, the thing is, most shelters are staffed by volunteers. The volunteers are the ones who know the animals are sick, but they keep it quiet because shelter policy is to euthanize any ill animals who may be contagious. The volunteers are usually animal lovers so they want the animals to be adopted by people who will pay for vet care for them, and save their lives. Unfortunately by doing this they expose all the healthy animals to all kinds of things. I’m not blaming them at all, since I used to do the same. But anyone who adopts a shelter animal really ought to factor in the cost of an immediate vet visit and full blood screen the same day they adopt. If you can’t afford that (and I’m sure Oprah can) then you shouldn’t adopt from a shelter. Oprah is notoriously cheap though (my NDA prohibits me from discussing specifics) so it wouldn’t surprise me if she adopted them and took them right home to mingle with the rest.

  23. TIFFANY says:

    SHE ATE THE PUP AND WANTRS US TO BELIEVE IT’S DEAD. BIG FAT ASS LIAR!

  24. nik says:

    Everyday many many children and adults die in the world and no one seems to care… now, a pup died and it is in the news….
    What this world has come to ????

  25. CJ says:

    I agree with Nik. So many children go with out and are hungry and this poor puppy has made more news than a child. I feel sorry for the puppy going through the illness, it is a nasty disease. But it is not a human life. Come on people. If she wants to help something, let her ADOPT a child that needs love and a home.

  26. truth says:

    That puppy that died was raised by a foster from a rescue!!!! Rescues know parvo is preventable with a series of vaccines. Those puppies should have never gone to a shelter unless they were properly vaccinated. Giving a puppy a vaccine takes a minimum 2 WEEKS before it WORKS.So giving a puppy a vaccine and throwing it into the population is a death sentence. The posh shelter these dogs came from cost millions of dollars yet they can not spend a dollar yes a dollar that is what 1 vaccine cost before the vet tacks on his fees. To give the proper vaccine. It appears these shelters and rescues are death camps. The public should leave raising puppies and selling dogs to the professionals. who are licensed and inspected. Not these feel good shelters with zero experience who allow these poor puppies to die for a few bucks and a few minutes of their time it takes to administer the proper vaccines. Parvo and other sicknesses that cause death and serious illness are epidemic in shelters, and rescues across the nation. Yet nothing is done. People keep giving them donations and they keep crying poor. I am a USDA kennel. I have never sold a puppy that contracted Parvo. I am given no donations to accomplish this feat either. I sell wholesale, and many times shelter prices are more then the prices I receive for my puppies. Yet if I did what that shelter just did, it would become international news, and I would be called some terrible names. This conspiracy has got to stop. Shelters need experience and they have got to stop trying to quell the competition, namely people like me by making up sick stories about us. When in fact no matter how fancy and expensive their facilities are they still can not produce as clean and healthy of puppies as I can. What a shame the puppy died due to their greed and inexperience. Such a shame.

  27. woody says:

    Will PAWS refund all of the money that Oprah has spent on medical treatment for these puppies?????? It would certainly be required if they came from a breeder.
    I also hope that Oprah knows that she can NOT get a puppy now for a long time because Parvo lays in wait in a home situation for months. You can’t sterilize a home.

  28. debbie says:

    Perhaps, if she had bought her puppy from a decent breeder she wouldn’t be suffering now from this heartache.
    Rescue dogs are an inherrent risk, both emotionally, diseasewise and healthwise.
    Sounds all warm and fuzzy to say you “rescued” and “adopted” some pet from the shelter, but what these shelters don’t want you to know is what a disease haven they are. Parvo, coccida, corona,parasites, ringworm , kennel cough, pneumonia etc.. and that doesnt even cover the “why” the dog may be there in the first place, destructiveness, housetraining issues, dominance/aggression issues

    If a breeder were to sell a puppy in such condition it would be all over how horrible they are, but a shelter can take your money and pawn off a diseased animal onto the public and that is ok.

    Puppies from breeders usually come from known parents , with known traits. They are vaxed and have at least a 1 yr health guarantee to cover such issues when they arise.
    Buy a puppy from a professional breeder and know what you are getting and have someone standing there to help in times of trouble.
    Learn from Oprahs error. Perhaps, if she spent a little less time with sensational news and with more true and honest reporting, she wouldn’t be suffering these problems now.

  29. BreedersUnite says:

    If a breeder had sold a pup that contracted parvo virus, they would have been CRUCIDIED. In the mainstream media, by the animal rights lunatics, by the general public. CRUCIFIED. How fast these hypocrites like Oprah would smal breeders and accuse US of being the unethical ones. WAKE UP and smell the dog poo! These rescues will sell anything for a buck, and make no doubt about it, they KNOW full well when a puppy is sick.
    This double standard cannot exist. Rescues who are trafficing as brokers should be licensed and inspected. You cannot sell a sick puppy in the guise of a rescue and say oh well, dogs get parvo. NO! Becuase if a breeder did this, then we are evil, sick puppy millers who are only out for money.
    Oprah is also to blame. Why was a 9 week old puppy taken to a studio audience? That is insanity.
    I feel sorry for the puppies being used as pawns for these corrupt rescue people. As for the likes of Opah, who is being used for the animal rights agenda, I feel not one bit sorry for her. She stands for nothing, and has fallen for EVERYTHING.
    http://www.petakillsaninals.com

  30. Marlene says:

    Wow I don’t know how I miss this one, but it’s a tough lesson one must learn before they get it right. You should now have learned that all shelters are full of diseases. And buying a puppy from one is not a good idea at all. You could have saved yourself a lot of heartache if you would have brought your puppy from a reputable breeder. Shelters are quick to point the finger at breeders for selling dogs, when the only finger they should be pointing at is themselves.

  31. unknown says:

    all i have to say is HAHA!
    she got what was comin! she should have got her facts right. It serves her right doing a one sided show!

  32. Gregory says:

    have discovered cure for canine parvovirus