Crazy, the chihuahua puppy that contracted a potentially fatal virus, has made a full recovery and is now happily wiggling her way around the home of her new adoptive family.

“When we got her home on Tuesday evening she started licking my eyebrows… she did the same thing to my daughter. She’s absolutely fantastic. We call her ‘the wiggler’ since she wiggles her bottom a lot when she moves,” said her owner, Bernard Zarb.

About three weeks ago, Mr Zarb bought Crazy for his five-year-old daughter. A few days after he took the dog home, it stopped eating and he noticed worms in its faeces.

The dog’s health started deteriorating and he took it to the St Francis animal hospital in Ta’ Qali, where it was diagnosed as suffering from canine parvovirus, which leads to death in 50 per cent of cases.

Mr Zarb panicked because he was worried about the health of his daughter and his two other dogs. He was told the virus did not affect people but it was very contagious among dogs and potentially deadly.

However, his other pets did not contract it. He immediately cleaned his house thoroughly, threw away anything that Crazy had touched or slept on and later informed the animal welfare authorities about the incident.

Animal welfare officers inspected the Swieqi pet shop where he bought the dog. There was nothing illegal as such because pet shops are not legally obliged to give vaccinations but it was good practice and they usually did.

Welfare officers are working on tracking down the breeder of the nine-week-old puppy to ensure there was no neglect or cruelty.

Since then, Crazy has been at the animal hospital where, Mr Zarb said, the staff were “exceptional”. He took the dog home on Tuesday evening after he was told she was healthy.

“My daughter is over the moon. I bought everything new for her as I had thrown away all her bowls and blanket. She is such a jolly dog,” he said.