Cheyenne animal shelter to destroy 70 to 80 dogs
Canine influenza outbreak forces closure of facility
May 3, 2006
CHEYENNE - All 70 to 80 dogs at the Cheyenne Animal Shelter will be euthanized because of an outbreak of canine influenza that has closed the shelter for more than two weeks, shelter officials said.
Four dogs at the shelter have died. The virus was confirmed Friday in four of five samples submitted for testing, officials said Monday at a City Council meeting.
Misty Courtney, a shelter employee for about four months, opposed the decision. She said that after learning about it Sunday, she stopped by the dogs' kennels.
"I almost lost it," she said. "I wanted to take them and escape." But shelter officials said there was no way to quickly test for the virus, therefore, no way to tell which dogs are infected.
Shelter director Alan Cohen said that unless all the dogs are killed, he couldn't guarantee that they wouldn't re-infect themselves and other animals.
"If I do not euthanize these animals, how can I let them loose knowing they might spread it to the community? If we don't stop these 70, they may serve as vectors to spread it to the entire community," he said.
The virus also has been turning up in dogs around town. Frontier Animal Clinic confirmed three cases, including one dog that died rapidly, according to clinic veterinarian Gary Norwood.
Norwood urged dog owners to remain calm and take precautions. He said that while the virus has a fatality rate of 3 to 10 percent, most dogs recover or never even show symptoms.
"For 95 percent of cases, the dog's going to recover just fine," he said.
"People need to not panic. Respect that this virus has entered our community. Use logic. Use hygiene. This virus is susceptible to normal hygiene procedures." Officials also urged dog owners to isolate their pets over the next few weeks.
Shelter records show that the outbreak began about three weeks ago, when staff noticed symptoms similar to kennel cough, a mild and common infection in dogs. But shelter staff began to worry that the disease was canine influenza.
One adoption kennel was closed April 11. The rest of the shelter was closed April 17 and all adoptions were halted. Meanwhile, the disease spread rapidly, killing four dogs.
Shelter officials said they considered isolating the dogs instead of euthanizing them, but the difficulty of being sure of eradicating the disease ruled out that option.
Assistant state veterinarian Walt Cook asked four veterinarians at the council meeting whether they supported the euthanasia decision. All four agreed.
"As regrettable as this is, I think this is the most reasonable decision, and I commend it," he said.
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