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"A deadly disease has claimed the lives of two dogs and has left hundreds more at risk.A distemper outbreak has shut down dog adoptions at the Sebastian County Humane Society.According to Humane Society Director Joseph Sprague, two stray dogs were brought to the shelter. Sprague said the dogs tested positive for distemper and had to be euthanized.\"We have closed down operations for the dog area,\" Sprague said. \"All three of our areas that we have for the dogs have been exposed to the disease.\"The Humane Society is sheltering approximately 300 dogs.\"It's something that happens to shelters all over the country,\" Sprague said. \"Every couple of years, you're going to hit the cycle, and you're going to get the disease in your building, and you're going to have to deal with it. \"After checking with local veterinarians, Sprague said testing for distemper could cost $50 per dog.But he said that's still too expensive to test every dog for the disease before it enters the shelter.\"Unless someone in the community would like to donate between $20,000 to $30,000 for us to be able to test every animal that comes in,\" Sprague said. \"When people say, 'Oh, it's $90 to adopt a dog,' that doesn't even begin to cover the cost that we have into these animals.\"\"It's just like with humans. You have people that get the flu shot but still come down with the flu,\" Sprague said. \"If we didn't have to take in all the stray animals in Fort Smith, we could get some of this under control.\"He said the Sebastian County Humane Society does not have enough space to isolate every dog that is brought to the shelter.\"In one day, if we bring in 27 dogs, (we'd) have to have a very large building to put those 27 dogs in a building, separated from everybody else, and hold them for 10 days. Then, what are we going to do the next day when we bring in 25 more dogs?\" Sprague said.Workers at the shelter are busy cleaning and sanitizing cages in an attempt to stop the spread of the disease.Sprague said 10 dogs have already been quarantined, because they are showing signs of possibly having distemper.\"They'll be tested for the disease, and if they come back positive, they'll have to be euthanized,\" he said. \"First, they start off with a small cough, like kennel cough. Then they start a runny discharge out of their nose that's very thick, and then their eyes start to crust up. They go from that to diarrhea and throwing up.\"Veterinarians told 40/29 News that distemper is often fatal in dogs, and it's very expensive to treat.\"It's a viral disease, and it gets the nervous system and the respiratory system,\" Dr. Randy Hubbs said. \"We see about three cases a week.\"Hubbs said the easiest way to prevent distemper is to regularly vaccinate your dogs.He told 40/29 News that after a dog is vaccinated, it takes a few days for the animals immune system to build up resistance to distemper.According to Sprague, about 7,000 dogs come through the the Sebastian County Humane Society shelter every year.He said workers are trained to look for signs of distemper before a dog is allowed to transition through the shelter.The Humane Society has halted dog adoptions, and only dogs brought to the shelter by animal control officers are being accepted.They hope to resume adoptions for dogs after two weeks, as long as all tests results are negative for distemper.As distemper only affects dogs, cat adoptions are not affected."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
<http://www.4029tv.com/article/deadly-disease-threatens-dogs-at-humane-society/4959518>