A series of illnesses within animals living at Heritage Humane Society has prompted the shelter’s staff to close its doors until they are confident the cats and dogs living there are ready for adoption.
While the Upper York County animal shelter is closed, a veterinarian will work to alleviate feline upper respiratory infections and kennel cough infections present in about 20 cats and six to eight dogs, respectively.
Two cats, two kittens and a dog have also shown evidence of ringworm, a fungal infection on the skin. HHS staff will work to sanitize the building during the closure.
“This is more of a preventative measure than anything else to make sure we’re following every process to keep our animals healthy and safe,” said HHS Executive Director Kimberly Laska.
Laska said the illnesses staff has seen are not uncommon in a shelter, where new animals are frequently coming in and using shared space. The shelter is often a higher stress environment for animals — especially when an animal is used to a home setting — which can chip away at its immune system.
“It’s not like one day we woke up and there were all these illnesses,” she said. “It’s an accumulating effect.”
Staff isolated animals showing signs of kennel cough and feline upper respiratory syndrome. A contract veterinarian was later hired to come to the shelter to treat the animals.
“I want the community to know they can trust their adoption decision through Heritage,” she said. “This is our way of not just supporting the pets in our care but the community at large.”
The shelter will remain closed until Laska and her staff believe the animals in the building are ready for adoption and the chance of re-infection has been minimized. The public is asked to stay away from the building for a few weeks as staff works to restore it and fight the illnesses, according to an HHS information sheet.
The veterinarian will thoroughly check every animal in the building, Laska said. There are currently 149 animals in the building, down from about 170 a few weeks ago. The animals are mostly cats and dogs, though there are some rabbits. The rabbits have not displayed any signs of illness.
Updates about the shelter will be posted to its Facebook page.
The shelter, a nonprofit, needs help from the public via donations of supplies. HHS is currently in greatest need of bleach, old towels, paper towels, Yesterday’s News cat litter and scrubber sponges.
During the closure, some adoptions will still be available through PETCO and foster care providers in the community. Anyone with questions should call the shelter’s main line at 221-0150.
HHS opened in 1992 and operates off Waller Mill Road in Upper York County. More than 200 volunteers work alongside 23 staff members to help find homes for animals, with about 1,600 animals receiving service in 2013.
