YORK COUNTY, Pa. — The York County SPCA announced that they will not be moving forward with Sunday’s adoption event after three rescue dogs tested positive for parvovirus.
Parvovirus, or parvo for short, is an infectious disease that can severely threaten a dog’s intestinal health.
The most common way for the virus to transfer is from infected feces but it can also live on surfaces, like carpeting or people’s clothing.
A spokesperson for the rescue says three dogs tested positive for the virus shortly after arriving at the shelter.
“It poses very little threat to dogs that are completely vaccinated, which if you’re following your normal vaccine schedule at your vet should have no risk of contracting parvo, but a lot of the dogs at our care we don’t know their vaccination status or we know more than likely that they’re not vaccinated,” Kristen Dempwolf said.
The infected dogs are receiving care and are expected to be okay, but the positive cases have disrupted normal operations.
“We have no dedicated space to quarantine an infectious disease,” Dempwolf explained.
The shelter was forced to cancel Sunday’s adoption event and close all walk-ins at the kennel for at least two weeks.
“This is really out of an abundance of caution both for our shelter pets and our community," Dempwolf said. "We don’t want any dogs to unnecessarily come down with this virus."
Sheila Cappella from York County says her dog Jules is vaccinated against the virus, but worries the dogs she interacts with might not be.
“It’s almost like if you’re afraid your dog is going to catch something, don’t come [to the park] because they’re all over each other,” Cappella said.
Dempwolf encourages all owners to monitor their dog’s health and treat any signs of illness as soon as possible.
She also advises owners to vaccinate their dogs as puppies and routinely take them for booster shots as they get older.
“It really depends on the animal's immune system and how they respond to the virus, just like you or I can get a cold and you can experience it one way and I can experience it a different way.”
Despite the kennel being closed for walk-ins, the shelter accepts appointments for anyone interested in adopting.