ANDERSON COUNTY, Tenn. — The Anderson County Animal Shelter said they were closing their facility for two weeks after confirming a parvovirus case in the facility.
"We suspected that parvovirus had presented on an intake, and confirmed with a veterinarian," they said on social media Monday. "While we recognize the hardship closing the facility will be for the public, we recognize a potentially larger problem for a healthy facility."
They also said they are too small of a facility to have a quarantine area. While the facility is closed, they said they would continue monitoring the health of their population and they added extra protocols to prevent the dangerous parvovirus from spreading.
Canine parvovirus is highly contiguous and can affect all dogs, especially unvaccinated dogs and puppies younger than 4 months old. It affects their gastrointestinal tracts and is spread through dog-to-dog contact, or if a dog is exposed to contaminated feces, environments or people.
Symptoms include lethargy, loss of appetite, abdominal pain, bloating, fever or low body temperature, vomiting as well as severe diarrhea that could include blood.
While the Anderson County Animal Shelter is closed, a team will be there caring for dogs and cats, they said. However, they will not be able to handle any new intakes.
They also said they would be able to speak to people about adoption plans on the phone if they want to adopt an animal. They can be reached at 865-441-2068. They plan to reopen on August 15.
"We hope you will join us in thinking positive thoughts for the health of our animals," they said on social media.