Pima Animal Care Center officials are halting voluntary pet surrenders from owners for two weeks, starting Wednesday, Nov. 9, due to shelter-related dog illnesses that can be deadly if not quickly treated.
On-site adoptions will also be stopped for a short period while the shelter makes room to house its healthy pets.
The shelterβs mandated functions, including law enforcement, cruelty and neglect cases and rabies quarantine will continue uninterrupted as normal.
PACC medical staff have identified seven cases in dogs of distemper, five cases of streptococcus equi zooepidemicus and one with both. Both diseases are highly contagious among dogs in shelter settings and can be potentially lethal if untreated.
The shelter has isolated all dogs showing any evidence of illness from the remaining population for testing and treatment.
In addition, all healthy-appearing dogs have received and will continue to receive prophylactic antibiotic treatment to eradicate the infectious organisms. All treated dogs will also undergo a 14-day period of observation and testing to ensure they are not contagious or ill.
PACC veterinarian Dr. Jennifer Wilcox estimates it will take about 14 days for the antibiotics to eradicate the illnesses in the current population and stop the spread.
Wilcox said, βThe most recent batch of test results show that no new cases of these diseases have occurred since the original spike in cases began on Thursday, Nov. 3.β
