PET owners have been reminded of the importance of vaccinating puppies after a Wagga family was forced to put down their new puppy after it was diagnosed with parvovirus.The Green family made the heartbreaking decision to allow a vet to put down the infected dog after being told it would cost them $1000 for treatment. Lisa Green purchased the female staffordshire-mastiff cross from a Wagga animal shelter, believing she was doing the right thing by buying a dog which had been microchipped and vaccinated.After taking the dog home to her eight-year-old son last Thursday, the family noticed the dog was not eating much and seemed lethargic in the days that followed.The shelter referred the Green family to a vet, who ran tests and determined that the dog had parvovirus."It was really upsetting, but the vet said the virus can take 7-10 days for symptoms to show and we could not afford to pay that much money."The pound has offered to refund the $240 cost of the dog, but Lisa has been left with the painful task of decontaminating her backyard and disposing of any toys, clothing and other items that the dog may have come into contact with."We spent about $200 all up and have to get rid of all the toys, leads, dog food and her little bed," Lisa said."My son was still very upset when I dropped him off to school the next day."Lisa's father, John Green, was devastated for his grandson who had fallen in love with his new best friend."My grandson is a tough little guy, but this has really brought him down," John said.A media spokesperson for the animal shelter said that it was more than likely the dog had contracted the disease prior to arriving at the shelter and it is sometimes difficult to make clear assessments of an animal's condition due to the lengthy incubation period of the disease.Parvovirus can affect dogs of all ages, but is most common in dogs less than one year of age where young puppies are most severely affected and the most difficult to treat.