Walker County Messenger

Parvo prompts shelter closing

- By Josh O’Bryant jobryant@npco.com

The Walker County Animal Shelter will remain closed and under quarantine until the end of August due to a parvovirus outbreak, shelter director Alison Smith said.

“This means nothing in, and nothing out, during those two weeks,” she said Wednesday, Aug. 17.

Angels Among Us Pet Rescue rescued 47 dogs to veterinari­an clinics around Atlanta, where they will be treated, observed and moved to foster homes.

At the time of the outbreak, there were 70 dogs at the shelter. Of those, 10 - 20 were euthanized.

Smith said the outbreak came from a liter of puppies brought to the shelter recently.

Only dogs brought to the shelter due to biting humans or other animals will be retruned to their owners, she said.

“If they break with parvo, they will be put down,” Smith said.

Parvovirus is hostspecif­ic and does not affect humans. Flies can spread the virus.

“If you are a dog owner, please vaccinate your pets. This is avoidable and if you are planning to surrender your animals please run them by the vet first to have their vaccines,” Smith said in a post on the Friends of the Walker County Animal Shelter’s Facebook page.

The shelter now is scheduled to reopen on Wednesday, Aug. 31.

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