Update 04/13/2015, 6:30pm: Overnight four more dogs began exhibiting mild symptoms of sickness.  In total, 23 animals at the shelter are having these mild symptoms.  All animals are responding very well to the treatment and it appears that their health is rapidly improving.  The shelter continues to consult with a total of four different veterinarians who are in constant contact with each other on almost an hourly basis.

Partial results have returned from the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine on one of the dogs that were tested.  The results confirm that the dog tested negative for Bordatella, more commonly known as kennel cough. The dog also tested negative for all strains of Canine Influenza.  Unfortunately, the testing indicated signs of pneumonia. The cause of the pneumonia is unknown at this point.  The shelter is awaiting results on lab cultures to confirm what the initial sickness was that caused the pneumonia.  There is no time frame for when these results will be provided by UGA to the shelter.  As soon as the results are received, the information will be distributed.

A longer term secondary shelter has been secured.  It is anticipated that this secondary facility will be opened to the public soon. When the location is operational, the address will be provided. Once open, all routine shelter operations will transfer to the secondary facility.  This includes any owner reclaims and adoptions of animals coming in after April 10, 2015, as well as any other needed services to the public.  The primary facility will remain closed, as all animals inside are still being treated.   At this time, it is not known how much longer the main facility will be closed.

Update 04/11/2015, 4:40pm:  Currently, there are 19 animals at the shelter that are showing symptoms of this specific illness.  At this time we would not consider any of them to be critical or life threatening.  The shelter staff began administering the doxycycline today in hopes that this will clear up the symptoms that they are seeing. 

There are four veterinarians that are being consulted with.  Together with the director, they have come up with a plan on how to care and clean for these animals.  New cleaning procedures have been put into effect today during the quarantine procedure.  Animals were also moved around inside to different locations and pens within the shelter to cut down on exposure and to create a true, two-pen quarantine environment for every dog. 

There has been an enormous outpouring of assistance from the veterinary community, rescue community, and retail community to assist in caring for animals at the shelter.  Because of the recent media notification that the shelter needed doxycycline, the shelter has been able to secure not only enough to last the weekend, but enough to last the entire 10-day quarantine for all dogs in the shelter.  The director even has enough for any dogs that may become sick at the offsite temporary shelter location. 

The medications were both purchased and donated from the following veterinary offices and rescue groups:

Angels Among Us Pet Rescue (Atlanta)

Atlanta Lab Rescue (Buckhead)

Banfield Animal Hospitals (Lawrenceville)

Baranik Animal Care (Suwanee)

Fur Kids (Alpharetta)

Georgia SPCA (Suwanee)

Gwinnett Animal Hospital (Snellville)

K-9 Rescue League

Russell Ridge Animal Hospital (Lawrenceville)

Society of Humane Friends (Lawrenceville)

Sugar Hill Animal Hospital

The Veterinary Clinic West (Marietta)

Tiger Tails Animal Hospital (Duluth)

Even though the shelter now has enough, we will still continue to accept donations of this medication to have should it be needed. 

The Facebook page “Helping Animals at the Gwinnett County Animal Shelter” put out a plea last night on their site for donations of canned dog food, blue Dawn liquid dish detergent and towels.  This was very late in the evening when the need was discovered, and the response has been overwhelming.  Many thanks as well to two of the administrators of that page, Jan Grissom and Cathy Elliot.  Ms. Grissom and Ms. Elliot have been driving all over metro Atlanta from Buford, to Duluth, to Marietta, to Buckhead picking up donations for the shelter, saving staff time. 

A large thank you also goes out to the Petsmart at the Mall of Georgia in Buford and Alcovy Pet Rescue for holding a donation drive today at the store for supplies needed at the shelter.

A very large thank you is also due to the private citizens that have come to the shelter making these donations.

The shelter has received approximately 700 cans of dog food, along with other supplies already. 

Even though this sickness is only apparent in dogs, a large thank you goes out to the cat rescue community.  With the assistance of an individual local rescuer named Caroline Gatto, all cats have been removed from the shelter.  This was not because the director was afraid the cats would become sick, but it was done to ease the staff’s workload of having to not only care for dogs, but cats as well. 

The rescues that Ms. Gatto worked with to pull these animals are:

Angels Among Us (Atlanta)

Columbus Purrs and Paws (Columbus)

Fur Kids (Alpharetta)

Planned Pethood (Duluth)

The Animal Control Director has been in touch with the doctors at the University of Georgia Veterinary Medicine College.  No results have come back as of yet on the tests that are being conducted.  It is anticipated that the results will return late Monday afternoon.  The temporary animal housing for incoming animals from field officers is up and running well and currently only contains two dogs.

Director Moore would like to extend a large thank you to the staff members that have worked tirelessly to care for the animals at the shelter.  He would also like to extend a large thank you to the numerous Gwinnett County Volunteers that have come in and worked just as hard side by side with shelter staff. 

The Gwinnett County Police Department and Animal Control Director Chip Moore would like to thank our citizens for their patience during this difficult time. 

If you have any additional concerns or questions please email animalwelfare@gwinnettcounty.com.

Once additional information is received, this media release will be updated. 

Update 04/10/2015, 9:20pm:  Doctor Solveig Evans, Medical Director for the Gwinnett County Animal Welfare and Enforcement Center, has made contact with the pathology laboratory at the University of Georgia.  Dr. Evans has been advised that the samples that were submitted are in virus isolation awaiting results in the next few days.  Under Dr. Evans’ guidance the shelter has decided to take prophylactic measures by starting all dogs that are currently in the shelter on Doxycycline.  Doxycycline is an antibiotic that will be beneficial no matter what the test results show. 

The current issue at the shelter is that there is only a very limited supply of the Doxycycline .  Director Chip Moore is putting out a plea to local animal shelters, veterinary offices and any supplier of this drug to make contact with him.  Director Moore is not seeking a donation; he will be purchasing the antibiotics, however he needs to know where the medication is available to be purchased in large quantity.  Currently there are approximately 150 animals in need of this medication.  Director Moore also states that we will only be able to purchase medications from a veterinary office, animal shelter or supplier.  The shelter will not be able to accept any individual personal donations of this medication.

To contact Director Moore, please email the shelter at animalwelfare@gwinnettcounty.com with the word Doxycycline in the subject line of the email.

Original 04/10/2015, 4:45pm :  In the past two weeks, dogs at the Gwinnett County Animal Shelter have been getting very ill, very rapidly.  The dogs were happy and playful one day and the next day they appeared extremely sick.  Their symptoms are coughing, sneezing, and mucous coming from the nose.  One dog has died as what appears to be a result of the illness.  The Director has contacted the University of Georgia: College of Veterinary Medicine to determine exactly what has been causing the dogs to be sick. 

After consulting with the Department of Agriculture, the director of the Animal Shelter decided to shut down the shelter for a voluntary self-quarantine until the illness can be determined.  This illness is being described as a serious upper respiratory illness. 

The testing at UGA will take approximately 4 days. 

No animals will be allowed into the shelter and nothing will be allowed to leave.  As of April 10, 2015 at 2pm, the shelter was closed to the public and will remain this way until further notice.  Temporary shelter is being set up at an alternate location for the continuation of services provided by dispatched Animal Control Officers. 

The shelter is busy contacting every adopter, owner reclaim and every rescue that has taken an animal in the last two weeks.  These people will be asked to keep their dogs separated from all their other dogs in the home.  If their newly adopted dog or reclaimed dog begins to show any of the symptoms mentioned above, the director recommends that the owner take it to the veterinarian immediately. 

Here are the answers to questions that may be asked:

Q:        Was this a state-mandated quarantine?

A:         No.  This was a voluntary quarantine (closure) decided on by the Animal Control director.

Q:        How long will the shelter be shut down? 

A:         The shelter will be shut down for at least 4 days.  Once the results come back, we will consult with the state veterinarian and the Department of Agriculture for their recommendations. 

Q:        Does this illness affect humans?

A:         No.

Q:        Does this illness affect other types of animals?

A:         No.  This illness only affects dogs.

Q:        How many dogs have been affected by this illness?

A:         Approximately 5 dogs have shown signs of this same illness.  This number may rise because it is showing to be highly contagious within dogs. 

Q:        How many dogs are currently at the facility?

A:         There are approximately 150 dogs at the shelter?

Q:        What is going to happen to the cats at the shelter?

A:         The cats will be released to an animal rescue group on Saturday, April 11, 2015. 

Q:        How many adoptions, re-claims, and rescue pick-ups occurred within the past 2 weeks?

A:         There have been 52 dogs adopted, 41 dogs picked up from a rescue group, and 41 dogs re-claimed by the owner.

Q:        When was the last time the shelter was shut down due to an illness?

A:         The last time the shelter was shut down was approximately 7 years ago due to a Parvo outbreak due to state mandate. 

Q:        What about lost pets?

A:         If you are looking for a lost pet, please visit www.helpinglostpets.com.  This will be monitored by shelter staff.

Q:        What if I find a pet while the shelter is closed?

A:         Please contact www.helpinglostpets.com for further. 

Until testing is completed and this illness has been identified, this will be the most accurate information we can provide at this time. 

If you need further assistance, please contact animalwelfare@gwinnettcounty.com.  This email will be monitored throughout the weekend.