GANDER, N.L.
It’s was a bittersweet day for Bonnie Harris, Gander SPCA’S shelter manager.
After a nearly eight-week quarantine, the dog area of the shelter reopened to the public and animals Oct. 31. But it came at the expense of euthanizing 10 dogs – three adults and seven puppies – which had shown signs of distemper in early September.
“We had puppies come down from Happy Valley-Goose Bay, we’ve had hundreds of them over the years, they were vaccinated seven days prior to coming here, and showed no signs of illness,” said Harris. “Three or four days after we received them, we noticed a couple of them weren’t doing well.”
Distemper causes digestive, nervous and respiratory system problems in affected dogs. There is no cure and only half of affected dogs will survive. Those that do are usually left with permanent damage to the nervous system.
Bonnie Learning, vice-president and spokesperson for the Happy Valley-Goose Bay SPCA, confirmed the puppies came from Labrador.
She said the canines were vaccinated and veterinarian checked before being sent to Newfoundland.
“Everything was clear, they showed no symptoms of anything,” said Learning. “The dogs were still very young… their immune system probably wasn’t as developed as much as older dogs who were vaccinated. They probably contracted it somehow and weren’t able to fight it off.”
Learning said the puppies came from Natuashish, along Labrador’s north coast, which had faced a distemper outbreak over the summer.
Like Gander, the Labrador shelter had an outbreak as well. Learning said more than a dozen dogs had to be euthanized.
“It was a very unfortunate situation,” she said.
The quarantine in Gander was put in place but it would take weeks before the viral disease was confirmed.
To keep the viral disease from spreading, the decision to euthanize was made.
"We knew it was going to be horrible and it tore the hearts out of us to do it,” she said. “I’ve been here 22 years and it’s the first time we’ve ever had to do anything like this.”
It has caused the SPCA to implement new protocols. Any animal entering the shelter will be vaccinated immediately, unless there is an established vaccination history.
The shelter is also holding off on accepting dogs from Labrador, unless a vaccination history can be produced.
The biggest problem, Harris said, is the current shelter doesn’t have a quarantine area.
“That’s why the need for our new shelter is so great, so we can isolate any new animals coming in, at least a week prior to being brought out to the general population,” she said.
Paying respect
Open again to the public, the SPCA is ready for intake and adoptions.
There were currently two dogs at the shelter, but Harris expects it won’t be long before the kennels are full again.
However, there is a noticeable change to the dog area. A memorial wall has been dedicated to the 10 dogs that had to be euthanized.
There are pictures of the dogs, with their tags, scarves and toys on display.
For Harris the wall serves as a powerful reminder.
“We are supposed to be here to save them and this is what ended up happening,” she said. “The first time I saw it, and looked into the faces, it was hard.”
- Tell us what you think!
- Write us a letter to the editor and email it to [email protected]. Be sure to include a name, address and daytime telephone number where the author can be contacted. Letters should be no more than 300 words.
