MOULTRIE — The Moultrie-Colquitt County Humane Society remains closed following an outbreak of canine parvovirus, and officials are making renovations during the closure in hopes of getting rid of the disease.
Parvo has apparently plagued the shelter all year.
“After having a visit with our state Dept of Ag reps it was recommended that we epoxy the floors and repaint the shelter to help prevent the reoccurrence of parvo and any other diseases,” responded Dawn Blanton, director of administration for the Moultrie Colquitt County Humane Society, in an email to The Observer.
On March 12, the Humane Society’s Facebook page stated, “We are temporarily closed to the public and we are not able to accept any intakes. We are in the process of painting and resurfacing our floors for our shelter animals.”
Tonya Dean told the Colquitt County Commission the first week of March, when she appealed to them for help on behalf of the local Trap-Neuter-Return program, that she was told by the Moultrie-Colquitt County Humane Society that she couldn’t house the cats that were in the program because the facility had an outbreak of parvo.
“…We’ve had parvo more than we haven’t had parvo in this year….,” Dean said.
On the Humane Society’s Facebook page, a post dated March 2 stated that the organization was closed for a week due to the disease and another post, dated March 6, stated that they were still closed due to parvo. An individual commented on a post on the Humane Society’s page and referenced the disease occurring at the shelter at the beginning of February.
According to the American Veterinary Medical Association website, canine parvovirus is a highly contagious disease that attacks the white blood cells and the gastrointestinal tract of canines. Dogs that are unvaccinated or incompletely vaccinated are at greater risk of contracting the disease and puppies between six and 20 weeks of age are also at high risk.
Parvo is a very resilient virus, the American Veterinary Medical Association website said. It is resistant to heat, cold, humidity and drying. It can survive in an environment for long periods of time on surfaces like kennels, food and water bowls, collars and leashes, and the hands and clothing of individuals who handle infected dogs.
“We clean and sterilize the shelter daily with bleach; however, due to the conditions of the floors they (Department of Agriculture representatives) suggested some type of sealant like epoxy,” Blanton said.
No one The Observer spoke with indicated when the Humane Society would reopen.