The Animal Welfare League of Kosciusko County is under quarantine. That means they are not open to the public.
Executive Director Katey Wilks Zemen tells News Now Warsaw a case of parvo in dogs came into the shelter.
“This is a very highly contagious virus that mostly impacts the canine population, mostly our young and senior animals, or animals with compromised immune systems,” she explains. “Being that 90% of the animals that come to us are compromised in one way or another, we had to take extreme precautions.”
Zemen says the virus could have come in a number of different ways.
“It could be in mud on someone’s boot…it could come in from an animal that’s already infected, in this case that’s what we expect.”
Zemen says area puppy mills have had similar outbreaks recently.
Construction is underway for a new shelter for the AWL on U.S. 30 in Pierceton. That location, which has a tentative completion date of August 2019, will have better precautions to avoid this type of outbreak in the future.
“There is a quarantine area that is independent from the rest of the population, we’re going to be able to house the animal that comes into the shelter in this area until we’re able to assess them,” she says.
If the animal is determined to be ill, they would then be able to go into isolation at the upcoming shelter location.
In the meantime, staff members are still coming in and they have invested in additional cleaning equipment to ensure they eradicate the virus and keep animals safe and healthy.
Zemen says the shelter has gone through a lot of blankets and towels during the virus outbreak, so those who wish to help out can contact them at (574) 267-3008 to arrange a time to drop off towel and blanket donations.
Those who want to make a monetary donation can do so here: https://www.gofundme.com/daily-care-for-our-animals
