LINCOLN COUNTY, N.C.,None — Twenty-two dogs at the Lincoln County Animal Shelter were euthanized after eight puppies there died of a mysterious respiratory disease.
Animal Control Director Jack Kerley said the dogs that were euthanized shared a room with the dogs that died. He said he followed veterinarians' advice to put down the dogs so the disease wouldn't spread.
"We thought this would be a proactive approach to go ahead and stop it before it gets started," Kerley said.
Lincoln County Manager George Wood said they have not been able to determine what the disease is or where it originated.
"We are picking up animals on a daily basis so it's unclear where it came from," he said. "We are taking precautions to make sure it didn't spread throughout the shelter."
The disease is similar to one that forced workers at the Catawba County Animal Shelter to euthanize 200 animals and temporarily close.
• Unidentified Illness Forces Animal Shelter To Close
• Report: Animal Shelter With Mysterious Virus Was Overcrowded
Kerley said the rooms of the new shelter are individually ventilated, which helped prevent the disease from spreading like it did at the Catawba County shelter. The individual ventilation means airborne illnesses can't spread through air conditioning units to other rooms.
The entire shelter area was sanitized, and anyone going in and out of shelter areas has to dip his or her shoes in sanitizer.
"One of the things we are doing now it we are inoculating every animal that comes in," Wood said.
Kerley said it's been more than a week since a dog died at the shelter.
"It seems to have worked," he said.
WSOC
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