Jul 3, 2007 6:30 am US/Eastern
Wicomico County Shelter Euthanizes 40 Dogs
(AP) SALISBURY, Md. Forty dogs at the kennel operated by the Humane Society of Wicomico County were euthanized Saturday after an
outbreak of canine distemper virus, or CDV, officials said Monday.
Linda Lugo, the executive director of the kennel, said the illness workers suspected was canine influenza was found Friday to be the more serious illness, which manifests itself with nasal discharge, coughing and loss of appetite.
But antibiotics and other medication used to treat the animals failed.
"It's very hard to walk back in the building," Lugo said. "It's quiet. It's just so quiet. And that's hard. Those animals
all meant a lot to us. When you see them every day, you get attached."
She added she could not remember anything similar in the region since she started in 1994.
Animals are vaccinated against the virus when animals arrive at the kennel, Lugo said. CDV is an infection affecting respiratory, gastrointestinal and central nervous systems.
While CDV was once a leading cause of puppy deaths, a vaccine for the virus has reduced its occurrence. Some owners only get rabies shots for their pets, failing to give the CDV shot and necessary boosters.
Area officials suspect this is how the virus entered the facility.
Treatment is expensive. Lugo said each of the 40 dogs would have needed isolated cages and antibiotics to treat secondary infections. Even if a dog survived, there was a strong chance it would suffer serious neurological problems later in life, such as seizures.
Although the kennel has been closed, Lugo said not every dog at the facility had to be destroyed. Strays and dogs brought in through the county's Animal Control Department have been kept in an isolated portion of the facility away from the kennel.
It was not clear when the kennel would reopen.
