A sponsor of the Campbell County Animal Shelter says another outbreak of a deadly virus is the last straw.
The Friends of Campbell County Animals is pulling its support after shelter staff put down 12 dogs with parvo last month, and now the virus is back.
Just last week, the shelter lost 3 litters with about 5-8 puppies in each due to the illness.
The Friends of Campbell County Animals is a group that works to place dogs from the shelter into rescue organizations or new homes. They provide vaccinations, de-wormers and other resources, but due to the outbreak of parvo, they say they can no longer give their support.
The group issued a statement to the mayor's office stating it will "no longer be providing rescue services" due to a re-occurring outbreak of the parvo virus.
"It's for the safety of our fosters, it's for the safety of our partnering rescues," said Patricia Simpson.
Simpson works as the Rescue Coordinator for FCCA and believes the constant outbreaks come from improper cleaning of the shelter.
"I can't in good conscience send animals that I know could have been exposed to other places." said Simpson.
She says getting rid of the virus is tough, and expensive.
"It can live on the wall, the floors, anywhere." said Simpson, "It takes a lot of time and resources that our shelter does not have."
Though the mayor and county are working to get rid of the virus, Simpson says she believes the best option is to close the shelter.
"I know our friends group is frustrated, I'm frustrated, there are things that we can do and that's what we are going to do," said Mayor E.L. Morton.
As director of the shelter, he says his staff is working daily to combat the parvo.
"We just got to get better at cleaning," said Morton, "It's fighting bacteria."
In the last month, the county has invested in training, added staff hours, and new facility upgrades.
"We recognized the drain system was holding some bacteria," said Morton, "And we now have some lift out stainless steel grates."
He hopes to get a new floor to fix cracks trapping the germs. A nearby quarry causes fissures in the concrete, and a new sealant on the floor could resolve that issue.
"If we have the cleaning materials and supplies that's where we have to put our effort," said Morton.
It's an effort that Morton plans to see through till the end.
"I serve the people and the animals of Campbell County, and I intend to achieve excellence, and we are not there yet," said Morton.
In 2014, Friends of Campbell County Animals helped relocate almost 1300 animals from the shelter.
Simpson says a lot of changes would have to be made for the group to support the shelter again.
