Del. restricts movements of shelter, rescue dogs

Deebo was treated for the illness, and Faithful Friends is looking for a foster to shelter the dog. Courtesy of Faithful Friends.

Citing reports of possibly deadly infections, Delaware has banned the state’s shelters and rescues from accepting out-of-state dogs and moving shelter and rescue dogs from Delaware to out of state.

The order , dated July 12 and signed by state veterinarian Karen M. Lopez, runs for 30 days.

The order could be extended, it says.

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A disease causing upper and lower respiratory issues among dogs was spotted in late June.

“Clinical signs include lethargy, inappetence, fever, clear or mucopurulent (green) nasal and ocular discharges, cough, vomiting and difficulty breathing,” the order says.

Inappetence is a loss of appetite.

“Mucoplasma cynos was isolated from ill dogs at one rescue,” it continues.

“The outbreak is suspected to be multifactorial, involving multiple pathogens that comprise canine respiratory disease complex,” it continues.

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The state confirmed the outbreak at three shelters and one rescue, “and another shelter has treated affected dogs as veterinary outpatients.”

The state did not name the facilities, but the outbreak had been reported by Faithful Friends Animal Society , which runs one facility near New Castle; Humane Animal Partners , which runs three facilities in Wilmington, Stanton and Rehoboth Beach; and Brandywine Valley SPCA , which operates seven facilities in Delaware and Pennsylvania.

“Contagious respiratory infections are the most common cause of illness in shelters and are highly contagious,” the order continues.

“Puppies and older adult dogs are at great risk of severe infections.

“The viruses that make up canine infectious respiratory disease complex can be shed by infected dogs before they show clinical signs of illness.

“Therefore, the movement of an apparently healthy dog may still pose a risk to the shelter population or other dogs in the foster or permanent home,” it concludes.

Faithful Friends and Humane Animal Partners had previously stopped dog intakes and dog adoptions at their New Castle and Wilmington shelters while they treated the outbreak.

Faithful Friends and the Brandywine Valley SPCA appeared on Sunday to say nothing on their home pages about all this, but Humane Animal Partners talks about it in one of the blocks in the carousel at the top of its home page.

That block links to another page , with more than 700 words on what it’s doing, recognizing the symptoms, taking steps if a virus is suspected, helping HAP and detailing its extra “commitment to safety” while it copes with the outbreak.

• Humane Animal Partner is asking people to:
• Share information about the virus with other pet owners to help them recognize and respond to signs of respiratory illness in their dogs.
• Donate to its Helping Hands fund to “ provide critical care for animals” at the shelter.
• Buy items from its Amazon Wishlist , since it’s using cleaning supplies faster.
• Apply to be a dog-free foster home to help dogs recover or to accommodate new emergency foster cases.

One Faithful Friends dog, named Heidi, has died from the illness. “We are all heartbroken,” Faithful Friends founder Jane Pierantozzi said.

Thor, a dog at Humane Animal Partners ‘Wilmington shelter that also suffered from the infection, has died as well, said Patrick Carroll, executive director of HAP.

Faithful Friends had previously asked families without dogs to foster dogs in their care. Faithful Friends is also looking for donations to its Healing Touch Fund to cover the costs of the fight.

“We need to raise $15k at this time for this unexpected virus and expect it could go up,” Pierantozzi said.

New rules about dogs

The state has also ordered shelters and rescues to tell the state:

• The first day a dog within the facility exhibits signs of the illness.

• The number of dogs in isolation.

• Non-clinical adoption placements, including the dog’s date of initial intake, number of days in the shelter and adoption date, origin, destination, breed, age and sex.

The first two reports are due every other day. The third report is due Fridays.