The dog area of the Athens-Clarke County Animal Services Adoption Center has been placed under a precautionary quarantine until April 5, 2023 due to the slight presence of canine parvovirus identified from a dog found dead on the morning of March 22, 2023. Canine parvovirus (CPV), or parvo, is a highly contagious viral illness that affects dogs and is mainly seen in puppies, who cannot be vaccinated until they are six weeks old, and other unvaccinated dogs. The dog was vaccinated during intake as per standard procedure.
Until April 5, only Animal Shelter staff will be allowed in the dog area of the Animal Shelter. No visitors will be allowed in the dog area and owner surrenders will not be allowed during this time. Residents seeking to surrender dogs prior to April 5 should contact the Animal Shelter by phone for advice. Owner reclaims will be allowed, although the owner will be advised of a potential exposure to parvo and to contact their vet immediately if their dog starts to act ill. Animal Control Officers will only bring dogs to the shelter that pose an immediate threat to people during this time.
A necropsy has been ordered on the dog. If the presence of parvo is determined to be a false positive or other factors show that a quarantine is no longer necessary, the shelter will reopen for normal service.
Animal Shelter staff began cleaning procedures and are continuing to undergo specialized cleaning processes to help minimize the spread of the parvo virus. These steps are being taken to prevent accidental exposure to the virus for dogs outside of the shelter through human contact.
Due to the facility’s design to separate animals, the cat area of the shelter will remain open for normal operations.
Animal Shelter staff has consulted with the Georgia Department of Agriculture as required and contacted other area facilities that might be affected and Animal Services’ oversight veterinarian since the illness appeared.
For more information, visit www.accgov.com/animalservices or call 706-613-3540.
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