For the next two weeks, stray cats will be top dogs at Pima Animal Care Center adoption clinics.
The county has quarantined 26 of its 30 adoptable pups until Oct. 15 after they were inadvertently exposed over the weekend to three dogs with parvo.
While chances of the other dogs catching the disease are relatively slim, as a precaution PACC is keeping them at the center and not sending them out to mobile adoption clinics, which, for now, will feature only cats.
The dogs are still up for adoption, but only at the center. Since it can take up to two weeks for parvo symptoms to reveal themselves, the PACC will be keeping the pups on a short leash to avoid the risk of exposing other animals.
There won't even be petting.
At the county's animal shelter, 4000 N. Silverbell Road, where people can still adopt the dogs, plastic sheeting has been put up to ensure there's no funny business.
"There will be no nose-to-nose contact," shelter manager Patti Mahaney said.
Parvo is a virus that affects only dogs without vaccinations, although puppies are particularly prone. It is passed through feces and often can stay present in soil for months, if not years. There is no cure, as parvo essentially eats away at a dog's intestines. Bacteria will then spread through the body.
Pima County's animal shelter has a system in which new dogs are kept in one kennel, and after three days they are assessed for health and temperament.
If the dogs are OK, they get moved into the regular shelter and, officials hope, to homes.
In the case of the three infected dogs, the signs of parvo didn't show up until after they were moved to the shelter, Mahaney said. The three dogs have died.
Despite the exposure, Mahaney and others said the chances other dogs were infected are small, which is why the quarantined dogs are still up for adoption.
Would-be owners will be told about the possibility of parvo and a test will be recommended. The test costs $25 β but animal control will knock that off the cost of adoption.
Jenny Kading, spokeswoman for the center, said the goal of holding the dogs out of off-site clinics is to limit movement, and therefore their exposure.
"The more they get moved, the more chance they will get exposed just by traveling through the kennels," she said.
Find information of pet adoption, veterinary care and more at azstarnet.com/pets911
Parvo vaccines
The only way to avoid a parvo outbreak is to vaccinate your pup. The Humane Society of Southern Arizona has a low-cost vaccination clinic.
When: Saturdays, 7-8:30 a.m.; Mondays, 6-7 p.m.
Where: Companions for Life Center, 3465 E. Kleindale Road.
How much: Parvo, $10; kennel cough, $10; rabies, $13.
