At the end of February there was a parvovirus (parvo) outbreak at Virginia Beach Animal Control (VBAC). The initial outbreak was followed by at least one other related outbreak. This virus is spread through feces (NOT airborne) and is easily spread by shoes, hands, clothes, rodents, insects...and although there is always a risk of infection at a shelter - the information I have heard indicates that VBAC did not take the proper precautions to prevent this situation, and they have not handled the outbreaks properly, resulting in the unnecessary suffering and death of many dogs at VBAC in the past few weeks.
As of February 26th, all dogs were put on "lockdown" and isolated to their cages/kennels so as to keep the virus contained. The initial lockdown period was supposed to last 2 weeks (until March 12th), however, due to the subsequent outbreaks, the lockdown has been extended until March 19th. No dogs have been allowed out of their cages since Feb. 26th. This includes dogs that have not been exposed. I have also heard that any dog believed to be exposed to this virus is being euthanized. THIS MAY INCLUDE DOGS THAT HAVE NO SYMPTOMS AND/OR HAVE BEEN VACCINATED AND ARE PROTECTED FROM PARVO.
There are several issues here. The first is that I have heard through many individuals that VBAC has unacceptable hygiene and sanitation standards. Apparently the main method used to clean out the kennels is by hosing the urine and feces out of the kennel and letting it drain out through other areas. This obviously does nothing to prevent disease from spreading. If VBAC had higher standards of cleanliness, this outbreak could have been prevented all together.
Another thing that could have prevented the outbreaks is vaccinating the dogs. VBAC has been claiming they will start some type of vaccination program where dogs accepted into the shelter are vaccinated against disease in a reasonable amount of time. It is my understanding that VBAC does not vaccinate or provide sufficient veterinary care to the animals accepted into the shelter. I heard they hire only one vet that comes for a few hours a week. Other city shelters, like Norfolk Animal Care Center, have already adopted stricter vaccination and medical policies. If you compare VBAC with other animal control/shelters in hampton roads, you will be surprised at how little they do compared to the others. The vaccinations are important because they not only make the animals more adoptable, but they prevent the spread of disease! VBAC has never been known as a shelter with "adoption friendly" policies. Although somewhat of a plan has been developed over the past year to get VBAC headed in the right direction (they are currently trying to hire a shelter manager and are building a new facility) - progress has been too slow and this outbreak makes it clear that they are not doing nearly enough. You can find information online to get specifics about their plan. It is time to stop talking about a vaccination program, and actually implement one.
In addition to the lack of prevention, the way the situation is being handled is unacceptable. Some of the dogs are turned into the shelter by their previous owners, and have medical records. I do not believe these records are being consulted before deciding to euthanize, which is based solely on exposure. Furthermore, VBAC does not do an adequate job of asking for or requiring these records upon surrender of the animal, so some of the dogs may be protected, but VBAC will never know. This means healthy dogs are being killed. Although this is a serious disease with no cure, dogs can survive after having parvo, especially older dogs which are more resistant to the disease to begin with. I do not believe VBAC is even factoring this in. The procedure VBAC is following involves locking all dogs in cages for at least 3 weeks (more if there is another outbreak), and euthanizing any that have been exposed (I don't think they are event taking symptoms into consideration when determining if they are infected). This is not a normal response to a disease outbreak at a shelter.
Obviously they are not doing an efficient job at disinfecting the shelter (you must use bleach to kill the virus), because there have been multiple outbreaks, even with the dogs confined. This should worry anyone who is thinking about turning their dog into this shelter, or adopting from them. Keeping dogs locked up for 3 weeks is cruel in itself, and although the priority is to control the disease, it is excessive. If the facility is decontaminated, the unexposed dogs should be allowed to see daylight. I believe the reason for the long confinement is because VBAC knows their decontamination is inadequate. Or it may be a matter of ignorance.
The most upsetting aspect is that VBAC is not accepting help from organizations or individuals. They have not asked any of the other shelters or other sources for advice on controlling the outbreak. Volunteers that want to help have been locked out of the building and told not to come back until after March 19th. This includes volunteers that simply want to help sanitize the facility.
I am a concerned Virginia Beach citizen, and these are my questions:
Why is VBAC not accepting any volunteer offers to help?
How are they diagnosing the dogs with parvo?
How have they decontaminated the facility?
What are their normal cleaning policies?
Why have they not started a vaccination program?
Why do they provide such a low level of veterinary care?
Why have there been multiple outbreaks?
Please raise awareness of this issue - submit to 10 On Your Side or any other media you think may help. Ask the questions you want answers to.
