SPOKANE, Wash. – A highly contagious respiratory infection has spread across SpokAnimal, killing one dog.
Near the end of September to the beginning of October, SpokAnimal experienced an outbreak of what they thought was kennel cough. Staff followed kennel cough protocol, and all dogs were revaccinated.
SpokAnimal said about 80% of the kennel became symptomatic and developed severe pneumonia that didn’t respond to antibiotics or other forms of treatment. One dog became so sick the shelter decided to euthanize it.
To protect the general population of dogs in Spokane, Dr. Prewitt, the SpokAnimal staff veterinarian, chose to shut down the shelter. This decision prevented any dogs from coming in or out of the shelter.
The euthanized dog was sent to WSU for an autopsy along with samples from living dogs.
Most tests came back negative, not showing any illness. However, one report identified Streptococcus Zo, a bacterial infection that can build off the virus already in the shelter.
Aggressive Strep Zo treatment was started for all animals in the shelter’s care. The shelter said they saw significant improvement, with most animals completely recovered. However, they are still seeing illness from the unknown virus.
“We are still seeing a few dogs become sick, but the numbers of new sick dogs are few and getting lower all the time,” said Dr. Prewitt.
SpokAnimal is working with the Washington State Department of Agriculture, Washington State University Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory and the Cornell Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory. The shelter is also in constant communication with consultants who specialize in infectious diseases in shelters.
Staff members are deep cleaning the shelter three times a day while providing extensive treatment to each dog. During the peak of the outbreak, SpokAnimal said some staff members, including the shelter’s executive director, were coming in every two hours throughout the night to hand-feed ill pups who weren’t eating on their own.
Although the shelter is seeing much improvement, it will remain closed until they are confident each animal in their care is entirely healthy.
Other shelters in the area, including the Spokane Humane Society, are not experiencing this outbreak.
SpokAnimal is unaware if this virus will affect owned dogs in the Spokane Community. They highly encourage all dog owners to keep up on their annual vaccines, including the Bordatella and DAPP.
With the holidays approaching, some owners may plan to board their dogs while they travel. The shelter encourages dog owners to consider alternative care for their dogs. Consider hiring a dog sitter or house sitter to avoid any chances of infection.
See veterinary care if your dog exhibits any signs of prolonged coughing, nasal discharge and lethargy.
