EVANSVILLE — The quest for answers about what killed three young dogs in Evansville Animal Care & Control’s shelter continues with a full-scale investigation buttressed by testing, targeted revaccination, painstaking cleaning and disinfection measures and strictly enforced use of PPEs.
The local agency’s building on Uhlhorn Street is quarantined, the front door is locked and no one is allowed in who is not an employee. Animal Control employees and veterinarians working with the agency are making conference calls to anyone who may be able to help.
“We’re going to be shut down until we figure this out,” Animal Control Director Missy Mosby said Wednesday afternoon.
The Terre Haute Humane Society also closed in recent days after a rash of canine deaths, but that agency said Wednesday that its dogs had died of canine parvovirus (Parvo) — and Evansville Animal Care & Control’s testing ruled out Parvo days ago.
That only deepens the mystery, Mosby said.
“We’ve ruled a bunch of things out, so it’s process of elimination right now,” she said.
The deaths of three shelter dogs ages between 1 and 3 years old began on the night of July 31 with one dog. Another dog at Animal Control died about six hours later. And then on Monday a third died, Mosby said.
The three dogs who died were all being kept in Animal Control’s main kennel area, so that area is being contained and no animals are allowed there.
“We’re wearing gowns, gloves and shoe covers for each dog, for each kennel,” Mosby said. “We take it off and start over for each dog for each kennel. Any new stray that comes in, I’ve set up the meet-and-greet room with kennels so they don’t even get into the area that’s possibly been contaminated.”
Cleaning of individual kennels is accomplished by having one animal control officer remove the dog and take it outside temporarily. Each dog at the shelter has its own leash.
“We’re doing the vaccinations and everything at one time and then two (animal control officers) are cleaning (the kennels) and then, once we’re done with that dog, all those PPEs come off and we put a new set on for the next dog,” Mosby said.
In all, Animal Control has 42 kennels, including two dogs in crate kennels.
“Forty-two animals that we have to — every time we touch them or go in their kennel, we have to change out PPEs,” Mosby said. “So that’s 42 times six people times however many times we touch that dog.”
Animal Control has put out a call to the public for more PPEs. Mosby said just after lunchtime Wednesday that the agency’s donation box had already filled up three times that day.
Animal Control needs:
“Most importantly, keep our team in your prayers and show kindness,” stated a social media post from the agency. “We are grieving too, and every member of our team is doing everything humanly possible to save the animals entrusted to our care.”
This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Mystery of dog deaths at Evansville Animal Control deepens
Reporting by Thomas B. Langhorne, Evansville Courier & Press / Evansville Courier & Press
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Thomas B. Langhorne, Evansville Courier & Press | USA TODAY Network
