Weber County Animal Services euthanizes 20 dogs amid parvovirus outbreak
Ryan Aston, Standard-Examiner
The Weber County Animal Shelter, photographed Thursday, April 25, 2024.OGDEN — Twenty dogs were euthanized by Weber County Animal Services recently following a parvovirus outbreak, shelter officials announced via Facebook on Tuesday.
According to the social media post, at least 18 of those dogs were previously vaccinated against parvovirus, which the American Veterinary Medical Association, or AVMA, describes as a virus that “attacks white blood cells and the gastrointestinal tract of dogs and other canids like coyotes, wolves and foxes.”
The virus also can damage the heart muscle in puppies.
The shelter stated in the post that the outbreak began on Jan. 27, with the vaccinated animals having “tested positive for the virus despite all we had done to prevent these dogs from getting sick.”
It was noted that the shelter is required to follow procedures established by the AVMA in the event of an outbreak. Consequently, those dogs and two others that were quarantined after testing positive for the virus were euthanized despite the shelter’s “no-kill” designation, pursuant to disease control and prevention standards.
Shelter Director Chad Averett told the Standard-Examiner that treatment of dogs is attempted before the facility resorts to euthanasia.
“If (testing) comes back positive, then we reach out to (Best Friends Animal Society) or other resources to help pay for the vet bill because it’s extremely expensive to get them treated, and that’s a case-by-case thing,” Averett said. “Usually, Best Friends or somebody will help support that and we’ll transport them to a local vet where they’ll get the shot and they need fluids and monitoring.”
Averett noted that there’s about a “50-50 chance” of saving a dog with treatment, but outcomes are dependent on the stage of the disease, with early detection being a key determinant in saving animals.
He also stressed that the shelter takes steps with every animal to prevent this kind of infection from happening.
“What people don’t understand is we vaccinate every single dog that comes in as soon as it comes in, but the antigen doesn’t take effect for at least two weeks in most dogs,” Averett said. “Even then, it’s not 100%. It’s like any shot that, even for humans, it’s not 100% guaranteed it’s going to be effective.”
The shelter reported that all other quarantined dogs at the facility appear healthy.
