May 30, 2008

Pet Pulse Photo Illustration by Mike Lloyd

GAINESVILLE, Ga. -- The Hall County Humane Society euthanized 77 dogs and cats last week due to a rampant upper respiratory infection outbreak that had been plaguing the shelter since December of 2007.

After the disease first reared its ugly head, the shelter thought they had gotten rid of it. But it re-emerged in the past few months with a vengeance.

“(Initially) it was not that bad,” Rick Aiken, Hall County Humane Society Director, told Pet Pulse. “We did some things, pulled some animals and it seemed to go away. But just recently it came back. It’s not a fatal thing.

“It’s very inconvenient to the people (whose) animals get it, so even though we were treating animals at no charge it was just hard on the people that got an animal that’s sick and have to go through that. They worry and are afraid.

“So we just thought we had to make some changes and try to see what we could do.”

Of the hundreds of animals that have been adopted out since Jan. 1, there were several sick pets brought back for treatment, leading the shelter to take drastic action last Thursday.

After treating the sick animals with antibiotics failed, the shelter consulted with multiple veterinarians before putting the dogs and cats down to protect the other 240 animals in the shelter.

“We felt like we had to try to make some changes,” Aiken said. “Not one of the decisions we wanted to do, but that was the best decision we could come up with.”

The shelter, which had never experienced an infectious outbreak like this in its 95-year history, takes in 13,000 animals a year. That number is “ridiculously high” according to Aiken, considering the community they serve is comprised of 170,000 people.

“People don’t spay and neuter,” Aiken said. “They won’t be responsible and we’ve got a problem. When you take in 13,000 animals, you’re always going to have animals get sick from time to time and you’re going to have to pull them. That happens with every shelter.”

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