A pattern of canine distemper cases means the Pima Animal Care Center is giving a fresh round of shots to all of the dogs at the shelter, asking people who find strays to get them shots and hold them for 72 hours, and offering vaccines for other dogs at the homes of rescuers.
“Anecdotally, we’re seeing a high percentage of strays with distemper; much higher than normal,” said PACC Director Steve Kozachik.
PACC announced the move to step up vaccination efforts on Friday, when there was one dog at the facility with distemper. Over the weekend, another dog there was diagnosed with the potentially fatal infection, Kozachik said.
All of the dogs at the Pima County animal shelter on North Silverbell Road are being revaccinated for the disease.
People who find strays are being asked to bring them to the PACC parking lot to get vaccinations, then hold the dogs for three days for the vaccine “its best chance to work,” he said. PACC had already been asking those who find strays to keep them at their homes if possible, to decrease the overcrowding at the shelter.
If people are unsure of the distemper vaccination status of their pets and are caring for a new stray, they can have all of the dogs given the vaccine at PACC, Kozachik told the Sentinel.
Canine distemper can be fatal. It is a serious virus that virus attacks the respiratory, gastrointestinal and nervous systems of dogs.
“It begins like a regular upper respiratory infection, but leads to a bad cough and severe problems, like twitching,” the shelter director said. “It’s very fatal in puppies and dogs with stressed immune systems.”
“That’s partly why we’re worried about the dogs here; shelter life can be very stressful for some dogs,” he said.
Distemper is an “easy virus to kill if caught early. Vaccines are effective and the protocols we are implementing will put us into the best position to avoid seeing the community issue spread to our population,” he said.
Kozachik reminded people to ensure all of their dogs are vaccinated, and to avoid dog parks and areas where they may encounter javelina and coyotes if they are not.
“Don’t let your dogs run free in the wash,” he said.
PACC staff are restricting playgroups at the shelter to small cohorts from the same pods, to avoid cross-infections, he said. Kozachik noted that the shelter at 4000 N. Silverbell Rd. is holding about 500 dogs — 100 more than it was designed to accommodate.
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