Animal Shelter Reopens After Illness Outbreak

The Catawba County Animal Shelter reopened Tuesday after an illness outbreak forced its temporary closure.

The outbreak killed 13 dogs and cats and sickened dozens of others in early August, prompting shelter officials’ decision to euthanize nearly 200 animals and temporarily close to prevent the illness from spreading further.

The virus still hasn’t been identified, but shelter officials said they now think the outbreak was actually two different viruses -- one that sickened cats and one that sickened dogs. Tests conducted at university laboratories were either inconclusive or negative for known animal illnesses, according to shelter officials.

The Catawba County Board of Commissioners discussed the shelter’s closure and reopening at a Tuesday morning meeting, during which several county residents spoke out against the decision to euthanize so many animals.

“Before we knew (it), we gave all 200 animals in the shelter a death sentence,” Patrick Jean said. “Maybe that's not what the intent was, but to kill them before we know (what the illness was) smacks of a whitewash.”

Shelter officials, however, said the sick animals could not be isolated and were putting the county’s animal population at risk. That led to the decision to euthanize the exposed animals and shut down and thoroughly clean the facility, Jay Blatche, the shelter’s animal services manager, said.

“Our goal is to save and adopt animals out. That's our goal,” Blatche said. “The sickness was here and it was in other counties also. This was real.”

The shelter is now split into two parts: one for adoptable animals and one for animals that have just arrived at the shelter. Blatche said the renovation will help secure healthy animals from sick ones, preventing a similar outbreak from occurring in the future.

Commissioners also discussed building a new animal shelter to ease overcrowding issues. The current shelter takes in 23 animals a day, totaling nearly 700 a month at a facility built to handle just 78 animals. The board authorized the design of a new facility and once that’s complete, it will be presented to county leaders.

Previous Stories: August 26, 2010: Report: Animal Shelter With Mysterious Virus Was Overcrowded August 25, 2010: Unidentified Illness Forces Animal Shelter To Close