The death of a puppy which contracted a lethal virus has sparked calls for more dog vaccinations in Snodland.

Ian Johnson, of Sandhole Veterinary Centre, says he has seen one confirmed case of highly contagious canine parvovirus this week, which claimed the life of a young Dachshund.

The 10-week-old puppy was brought in after his owners noticed he was off his food.

The vet quickly diagnosed the virus but the pet died on Wednesday night.

Parvovirus is a highly contagious condition which causes vomiting and dysentery, and can lead to heart failure and death within 30 hours. But courses of vaccinations, with yearly boosters, prevent it.

Mr Johnson, who works at the Malling Road surgery, explained: “The owners picked it up very quickly when he was off his food – they couldn’t have done any more.

“It usually progresses into foul smelling diarrhoea.

“Unfortunately he was too young to have been vaccinated and this little one hasn’t survived – as a lot don’t.”

The disease is highly contagious and can be passed from dog to dog or by contact with dog faeces.

He added: “As soon as we have a positive case we let Parvoalert know who use Twitter and Facebook to get the message out to the local area as quickly as possible.

“It is very, very contagious and we have to have a full barrier system in place here. Our main advice when choosing a puppy is to see the mum and if she is vaccinated.

“For adults vaccinations are really the only way to prevent it.

Parvovirus has a reasonably high fatality rate, particularly in younger dogs.”