SUFFOLK
A parvovirus outbreak has shut down the Suffolk Animal Shelter and forced the staff to euthanize a dozen dogs since Saturday.
The shelter will remain closed until Monday, and cleaning has begun to stave off the spread of the highly contagious virus, the city announced Tuesday.
The shelter workers learned over the weekend that an animal adopted there last week had tested positive for parvovirus. Several other dogs, including three puppies, grew ill on Saturday and tested positive. They were euthanized, and the shelter did not open that day.
Parvo is spread among dogs through contact with feces or vomit. Unvaccinated puppies are especially vulnerable.
This is the second time the parvovirus has infected animals in Hampton Roads shelters since April. The Virginia Beach shelter partially closed after an outbreak. Twenty-four dogs with the virus were eventually euthanized, and at least 15 more were put down because of space constraints - an indirect result of the outbreak.
The Suffolk shelter can hold 48 dogs, more if there are animals housed together, city spokeswoman Debbie George said. Thirty-eight dogs currently reside in the shelter.
George said the shelter has had isolated cases of parvo in the past. Suffolk Humane Society Board of Directors President Angela Chandler said she cannot recall any outbreaks during her two years with the Humane Society.
"It is the nature of the game when you take in animals from unknown circumstances and whereabouts," she said. "They don't come with papers in their back pocket."
Three Suffolk veterinary clinics reached on Tuesday afternoon said they had not seen any cases of parvovirus in recent days.
City officials met with the State Veterinarian's Office on Tuesday, George said, and the office supported the shelter's plans to combat the virus. The shelter also plans to partner with animal welfare and rescue groups to limit the number of new animals coming into the shelter.
"I think they're being as caring and proactive as they can possibly be," Chandler said. "Our role will be to assist them in whatever way they need our help."
The Virginia Beach shelter waited a month after the first parvo death to announce the problem to the public. It did not contact a state veterinarian. Officials said they instead relied on a hired veterinarian, the Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals, and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.
Some criticized the city's handling of the events, including the shelter's failure to ask other animal welfare groups to help house incoming dogs.
The Virginia Beach shelter is now free of the parvovirus. A new policy requires that new dogs remain in quarantine for two weeks to help prevent a recurrence.
George did not respond when asked in an e-mail whether Suffolk's shelter has such a policy.
Pilot writer Hattie Brown Garrow contributed to this report.
Kristin Davis, (757) 222-5208, kristin.davis@pilotonline.com
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We adopted a puppy (4 months
We adopted a puppy (4 months old) from Suffolk Animal Control 10 days ago and are very happy with our new addition. The shelter was VERY clean, the puppy is VERY HEALTHY and very happy. The $75 fee (which is very low compared to other shelters) took care of all her vaccinations including a parvo booster as well as the cost of spaying.
We have been visiting the shelter occasionally for almost 4 years and the changes over the past 2 have been amazing. The partnership between Suffolk Animal Control and the Suffolk Humane Society has resulted in a dramatic improvement. The dogs are bathed regularly, walked and played with, the kennels are kept clean and they do a wonderful job of caring for animals that other people have abandoned!
Please people, take a breath. I am truly sorry for the puppies and dogs who have died and I understand the heartache of losing a part of the family. Unfortunately, puppies cannot receive the first parvo vaccine until they are 12 weeks old but people dump the puppies at the shelters before that time and obviously after they came in contact with the virus. It's a terrible disease that runs rampant. But please don't blame the shelter -- or the Humane Soci
PEOPLE FOR THE ETHICAL TREATMENT OF PARVO
PETA released a statement. They're appalled. The Suffolk Animal Shelter should make every effort to humanely capture the parvovirus, rehabilitate it and release it back into the wild.
Depressing
When I first moved to Suffolk , I adopted a puppy. He was sick with Corona Virus. He gave it to my other dog. We saved both their lives. A few years later Animal Control picked up 2 of my dogs. I got them back after they spent the weekend . They both had Kennel Cough. I wasn't impressed with the shelter. The cages were clean, but crowding animals together breeds disease. The animals had no place to move around, except being stuck in the cramped cages. Perhaps, they are taken out for exercise, but I doubt it, since the attendants exhibited the don't care attitude. I would never adopt an animal from any of Hampton Roads' shelter.
How about the afflicted families?
As a family we chose to adopt a puppy from the Suffolk shelter last week, the belief that health checks that were perfomed prior to the animal being adoptable was a key factor.
When I reported to the shelter on Thursday, that the puppy had been diagnosed with parvo, pnemonia and hookworms the response from the person on the other end of the phone was matter-of-fact. Even contacting the Suffolk Health Department and the Suffolk Humane Society did not get the response I expected. By the time I contacted the Health Department on Friday I was aware of 2 cases.
This virus has potentially put my neighbors pets into danger, my family has been hit hard mentally and finacially as we tried to nurse the puppy back to health.
I understand that there are a number of factors that play into the health of a puppy, but the city needs to take some responsiblity also. There was failure on multiple levels to protect the community with little guidance from the groups involved.
As for the puppy he died at an emergency vet early this morning, and our family is in the midst of bleaching everything in hopes of combating this virus. I cannot even express the anger our family feels as to why thi
Such a sad story. Sorry your
Such a sad story. Sorry your family had to go through this.
Obviously a fundamental problem...
There is obviously a fundamental problem in the way that many animal control facilities are run. Parvo in shelters is a fact of life. Therefore, proper cleaning and vaccination protocols must always be utilized and be in effect. Think of a hospital-- they expect the worst and follow good hygiene and cleaning to help prevent outbreaks of disease. This is how animal control facilities must be run. Cleaning of a cage where a parvo positive animal has been kept requires 3 15 minute cleanings with bleach (bleach is only effective if biological materials is removed first). Unfortunately, suffolk animal control has major problems, not just parvo. We need to start treating our animal control facilities as we do other governmental agencies-- get the best people in place.