CINCINNATI — Cincinnati Animal CARE has restricted all dog intakes until further notice due to multiple confirmed cases of Canine Distemper Virus (CDV), the shelter announced Thursday.
Cincinnati Animal CARE said it confirmed two cases of CDV on April 3 in stray dogs taken to its Northside shelter. On April 7, the shelter said four dogs have died from the virus. A fifth dog has also died, but the shelter is still awaiting test results to confirm whether it also died from the virus.
"Out of an extreme abundance of caution, we have made the decision to restrict shelter intake and outcome activity for dogs effective immediately," the shelter said.
The highly contagious virus causes multiple symptoms, including fever, cough, swelling of paw pads, nasal and eye discharge, gastrointestinal distress and more.
Ray Anderson, with Cincinnati Animal CARE said the outbreak is not easy to control.
"This is a challenging virus. It's sneaky, where it can lie dormant for up to two weeks for starters," he said.
CDV mostly affects unvaccinated dogs and puppies. Dogs are routinely vaccinated for this virus, but if an unvaccinated animal comes into the shelter with the virus — which can lie dormant for roughly two weeks — the vaccine is not effective, Cincinnati Animal CARE said.
"It is important to note that CDV is not transmissible from dogs to humans or dogs to cats," Anderson said.
Since cats are not affected by the virus, they'll continue to enter and exit the Northside shelter like normal.
Going forward, Cincinnati Animal CARE said it's consulting with local veterinary teams, as well as veterinary experts from the University of Florida that specialize in CDV. They have implemented extra protocols for staff.
"They're all wearing PPE, we have bleach foot baths outside the shelter, rigorous ongoing cleaning, which is tricky with as full as we are," Anderson said.
The virus is a challenge for the shelter's staff, but also for the pets.
"It's hard on the dogs. Being cooped up in kennels all day is not something we want for them anytime, let alone when something like this is happening," Anderson said.
Stray dogs found in the county will have to go through the Hamilton County Dog Warden office and will be housed at an off-site facility.
The Hamilton County Animal Shelter is also not able to accept any surrendered pets.
Other than the restrictions on dog intake, the county shelter is going to undergo daily deep cleanings, continue its strict one dog per kennel policy and the current dog population at the Northside shelter will be quarantined until they're medically cleared.
While dog adoptions are halted at the Northside shelter, Cincinnati Animal CARE said they will resume at the Pleasant Ridge location and off-site facility as soon as possible.
Cincinnati Animal CARE wants pet owners to be aware that this virus is present in the community.
"We want to emphasize this did not originate in the shelter walls," said Anderson. "This is not a virus that just was born here. This is something that came in from the community,"
CDV has been largely eradicated in the region, so the outbreak is uncommon. So, where did it come from? It's unclear.
"Sadly, we wish we could that would give us a whole lot more information but unfortunately, we just don't," Anderson said. "Raccoons, coyotes, ferrets and dogs can spread it between each other and we have seen an uptick in sick raccoons recently. Hamilton County dog wardens have been called out to a lot more of those cases. That could be a result but we cannot say where it started."
Cincinnati Animal CARE is stressing the importance of vaccinating pets.
"Get your pets vaccinated. I know there's been a lot of debate about vaccines in humans in the last few years. But when it comes to your pets, these save lives," he said. "These are largely eradicated illnesses that we do not want to see making a comeback."
Cincinnati Animal CARE is also accepting donations to help make the quarantine more bearable for the dogs. The shelter has set up wishlists on Amazon and Chewy with items they need to ease this process on staff and animals alike.
"We just ask the community for more enrichment items, toys, cones that we can fill with the special treats, more wet foods to put on their food," he said.
The shelter is expecting more test results in the next few days. Once they get the results, they will be able to better gauge how much the virus has spread throughout the shelter and how many dogs will be impacted.
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