The Animal Welfare League of Kosciusko County is under quarantine and closed to the public because of a contagious illness among dogs, according to News Now Warsaw.
In a Facebook post, Executive Director Katey Wilks Zemen said the shelter was closed Sunday due to an illness outbreak known as parvo.
Zemen told News Now Warsaw that 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 explained. “Being that 90 percent of the animals that come to us are compromised in one way or another, we had to take extreme precautions.”
Officials estimate the shelter will reopen to the public in one to three weeks.
AWL is partnering with Animal Care and Control to help with any stray animals in the community. If you find a stray animal, call 574-372-9511 for the city of Warsaw and 574-267-5667 for the county.
The post also states, “For owner surrenders, we ask that you please call with your information. We will do our best to identify an area shelter that will be able to assist you. Thank you for your patience and understanding at this time. Our top priority is the health and wellness of the animals in our care as well as the animals in the community.”
Zemen said 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.”
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 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, will have better precautions to avoid this type of outbreak in the future, News Now Warsaw reported.
“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,” Zemen said.
If the animal is determined to be ill, they would then be able to go into isolation at the upcoming shelter location.Zemen said 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 at www.gofundme.com/daily-care-for-our-animals.
