GA: Gwinnett animal shelter still closed; dogs appear to have pneumonia

7:11 p.m. Monday, April 13, 2015 | Filed in: Local News

Nearly two dozen sick dogs quarantined at the Gwinnett County Animal Shelter appear to be suffering from pneumonia, officials announced Monday, but the root cause of the outbreak remained unclear.

“The shelter is awaiting results on lab cultures to confirm what the initial sickness was that caused the pneumonia,” Gwinnett County police spokesman Cpl. Deon Washington said. “There is no time frame for when these results will be provided by (the University of Georgia College of Veterinary Medicine).”

The shelter has been closed since Friday, when authorities announced that one dog had died and a handful more had gotten sick from an unknown illness. No dogs have been allowed in or out of the Lawrenceville facility since and, as of Monday, 23 dogs were exhibiting what officials called “mild” symptoms.

Washington said it was unclear how long the shelter may be closed, and that the department had secured a “longer term secondary shelter.”

“It is anticipated that this secondary facility will be opened to the public soon,” Washington said. “… Once open, all routine shelter operations will transfer to the secondary facility.”

Officials also said the sick dogs — which tested negative for “kennel cough” and canine influenza — were “rapidly improving” thanks to antibiotics procured from local rescue groups and veterinarians.

“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,” Washington said.

http://www.ajc.com/news/news/gwinnett-animal-shelter-still-closed-dogs-appear-t/nkskk/