After quarantining for over two weeks, the Athens Animal Adoption Center Dog Area plans to reopen on Apr. 8.
On Mar. 22, shelter staff identified a dead dog with canine parvovirus (CPV), or parvo, a contagious viral illness usually found in puppies under six weeks old and in other unvaccinated dogs. The dog was vaccinated by staff during shelter intake, according to Athens-Clarke County officials.
Shelter staff originally isolated the shelter’s dog area until Apr. 5 before extending quarantine through Apr. 7. Since identifying the virus, no visitors were allowed in the dog area and all canine owner surrenders were prohibited. Owner reclaims have been allowed, however, staff were required to inform owners of their dog’s potential exposure to parvo, and ask owners to call their veterinarian if their dog fell ill.
During quarantine, shelter staff ran an intensive cleaning of their facility to minimize exposure. While humans cannot contract the virus, they can accidentally spread parvo to dogs from human contact.
According to shelter staff, the shelter’s dog area will resume normal operations on Apr. 8.
