As I have written repeatedly on this blog, parvo is preventable and treatable and every animal shelter has an obligation to both prevent and treat this disease. Parvo in shelters is prevented through the practice of vaccination prior to or immediately upon intake, good housing practices and standard disease prevention cleaning protocols.
Parvo is not the dreaded disease it once was. There are excellent prevention and treatment protocols available for shelters and pet owners to follow. Any shelter or state whose policy is to kill every dog in the place in the face of an outbreak (suspected or confirmed) is operating in The Before Time.
Meet Stokes Co, NC. As of Wednesday, the pound had killed 12 dogs and planned to kill 18 more after one dog adopted from the facility reportedly contracted parvo. County Manager Rick Morris, veterinarian Deborah Cowan, who is also chairwoman of the Stokes Co Animal Control Advisory Council, and pound director Phillip Handy “decided on Tuesday to ban adoptions of dogs at the shelter, euthanize the dogs there and put down any dogs brought to the shelter without vaccination records.” And there’s more:
That policy will remain in place until an outdoor kernel is built so that the shelter staff can clean the shelter’s indoor kennels of feces and urine and place down chemicals to kill the virus, Cowan said.
And not to put too fine a point on the new policy but, ok:
“If you bring it here and it has no vaccination it will be euthanized,” said Veterinarian Deborah Cowan[.]
Gee, is she accepting new patients?
Candis Loy, the president of Animal Rescue of Stokes County, said that euthanizing the dogs is regrettable. “I don’t think they have a lot of choices,” said Loy, a member of the animal control advisory council.
Yeah, the pound has no quarantine area so not “a lot of choices” besides killing. Because how could any animal shelter be expected to be cleaned without an outdoor kennel? That’s bananas. Just kill them all.
But even when they get the outdoor kennels built, that still won’t be good enough:
Shelter advocates say it’s only a temporary fix until a new shelter can be constructed.
Fundraisers are already under way for a new shelter that will cost around $400,000.
“We are begging, we are pleading, we’ve been getting down on our knees asking people to help,” stated Cowan who says they need $40,000 right now to secure a discount on a new facility that could be up and running by 2015.
In the past 3 years, they’ve raised $13,000 toward the new shelter. At this rate, the killing will end never. And I suspect that’s exactly how the killing apologists in Stokes Co like it.
I got some of the nastiest emails ever from volunteers and staff there when I wrote about that pound. Plus, they banned a volunteer they suspected was giving me “inside” information (even though she hadn’t been). Oh, but they are doing the best that they can …
Thanks for the heads up. I’ll keep my BAN button oiled and ready.
Oh I got the wrath for my comments as we have controlled Parvo with 60 runs…….they have 12! But I am not done with them. I have contacted the state and they are ON IT!
I’m looking forward to updates..thanks for sharing
If they have nothing to hide, they should be open to a full investigation! Why do they treat animals as if they are a number and don’t really exist? Shelters have lost sight of their responsibilities and why they were created in the first place! It’s past time for shelter reform throughout the Country!!
Any veterinarian who refers to a living being as “it” has lost all respect from me. Hope she does everyone a favor and finds a new job – maybe something that doesn’t involve working with living beings.
It’s getting very hard to read about all of these atrocities.
Oh, let’s call it what it is – KILLING! This is not euthanasia by any stretch of the imagination. They are killing all of those animals.
You are correct db. They are killing. Because they can. Another reason why NC needs CAPA.
Yes. Because a new building will fix everything. Just the way a 7.2M shelter fixed everything in Memphis, eh? Newsflash – unless the paint in the new building gives off fumes of compassion, nothing will change there, either.
I dread to think what their cleaning protocols are now if they “need” outdoor kennels to remove feces and urine from the indoor ones.
The fact that a vet is taking this slash and burn attitude, a vet who should (and likely DOES) know better, is disheartening. But again, killing is the easy way out…as long as you don’t have a soul.
And they have Dr. Hunter (from the state) patting them on the back and leading the cheers of “Yay Team Killing!” Enablers within and without. I wouldn’t give these people 40,000 dirty looks, never mind dollars. If they would get off their knees and start doing their jobs, donors might be more inclined to support them.
I agree..
This shelter is very close to me. I saw this on the 6 pm news last night and it did not surprise me one bit. This shelter, if you can call it a shelter, is well known for it being nothing but a killing field. I suggest that if anyone needs to turn in a dog or cat, you have choices. This VET knows better than to just kill every animal that comes in. He also knows that parvo is very treatable and that it is not the killer that it used to be, but he decides to kill rather than treat. It’s much easier that treating the animal. I know they don’t have an outdoor run for these poor animals.. but if the people of Stokes County would only band together, which most are just farmers and really don’t give a rats patoot if the animals live or die, they have enough SCRAP material lying around their homes that they could donate and to build this are the shelter is talking about. I also know of several good carpenters that would be very happy to give a little time to actually build this thing. All you have to do is drive through that area and you ‘ll see what I mean. You will also see at every single home, a dog and usually more than one.. supposedly protecting their property. They don’t care if the animal gets sick.. if it does, they either shoot it or take it to that horrid shelter where they know it will be killed and they don’t have to worry with it anymore.. they just wait until their next door neighbor’s dog has a litter and poof! They have another dog that they choose not to vaccinate or take care of. I’m going to mention this to my son that lives in Stokes County and I know has pets and has just finished building a home if he can’t himself involved in helping to fix this situation. At least I’m going to try. Wish me luck! “Until one has loved an animal, part of their soul remains unawakened” Kathie
>________________________________ > From: YesBiscuit! >To: kat2456@yahoo.com >Sent: Friday, April 26, 2013 9:12 AM >Subject: [New post] Stokes Co: The Killings Will Continue Until Donations Improve > > > > WordPress.com >YesBiscuit posted: “As I have written repeatedly on this blog, parvo is preventable and treatable and every animal shelter has an obligation to both prevent and treat this disease. Parvo in shelters is prevented through the practice of vaccination prior to or immediately upo” >
What idiots, they need to have a quarantine area not just for parvo but for any contagious condition they may come about. Not to mention even outside the parvo virus can be dormant years later without proper disinfection. An ounce of prevention and housekeeping could save lives. They should be ashamed!
i,ll tell you right now i will not financially support any kill shelter!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! the only ones i will support are nokill shelters!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Altho I am not always in agreement with the shelter where I volunteer, I was extremely proud when they drove to Joplin and brought home a litter of puppies who had been exposed to parvo. One died in the truck on the way back. The other (I think is was 7) made it. They had a fundraiser to buy more of the pumps needed to keep them on IVs. Parts of the shelter were quarantined, and you had to wear special booties to go back there.
Good on them – and it shows if you make the decision NOT to kill, that it’s very possible. Unfortunately, too many “shelter” directors, boards and “veterinarians” choose not to save lives. And then you have a whole mess of dead dogs and cats, kittens and puppies – animals who deserved life.
Shame on all those who choose killing over life.
OMG.. has anyone been to their FB wall and read the comments and explanations the facility is giving? They are idiots.. how is outside kennels suppose to protect the dogs against parvo.. how are they going to clean those areas?
https://www.facebook.com/StokesCountyAnimalShelter..
Apparently the thinking is that the only way to clean the inside kennels is to build outside kennels so they have somewhere to put the dogs during cleaning. I guess they never heard of rotation or crates or dog walkers or common sense.
I posted this link on their wall.. it was deleted…
I’m surprised they have time to police their FB page for dissenting opinions in between all that killing.
One has to wonder how they cleaned the kennels until now? Just with a broom and a poop scooper? Bleach is the most efficient and cheapest cleaning solution (actually the only one that will kill the parvo virus by contact) there is. If they would use it every day AND vaccinate dogs by intake it would be no issue at all.