Greater Birmingham Humane Society is temporarily closing their Woodlawn facility because a virus. (Jacob Blankenship / Bham Now)
The Greater Birmingham Humane Society (GBHS) has confirmed cases of Canine Pneumovirus (CnPnV) in dogs at the Jefferson County Animal Care and Control facility in Woodlawn.
As a result, they are closing all canine intakes in Woodlawn and temporarily suspending the adoption of all dogs.
Read on for more information.
Woodlawn facility closing temporarily on August 15
“Due to the highly contagious nature of the CnPnV virus, and to protect citizens’ pets and dog-related businesses from any further spread, we will close healthy stray canine intake at the Woodlawn facility beginning Thursday, August.”
Russell Johnson, Chief Medical Officer, DVM
All canine intakes will move to the GBHS Snow Drive facility.
These include:
Dangerous dogs
Severely injured dogs
Canines seized by law enforcement
Cats and kittens will continue to be accepted at the Woodlawn location.
GBHS has also suspended the adoption of all dogs.
GBHS confronts highly contagious virus
Your pup will be in good hands. (Nathan Watson / Bham Now)
According to a GBHS news release, CnPnV is highly contagious. Most dogs have no pre-existing immunity, which causes the infection rate to be very high.
Symptoms, which are similar to canine flu, include:
Coughing
Difficulty breathing
Fever
Sneezing
Watery eyes
The good news? CnPnV is generally not fatal. Most dogs experience coughing for one to two weeks, while others progress to pneumonia and require in-hospital care.
The Woodlawn facility has a current population of more than 225 dogs. They are currently providing medical care to multiple dogs suffering from CnPnV.
How you can help
Here are some supplies you can donate to the GBHS to help during this time:
Enrichment toys
Hand towels
Non-rawhide chew toys
Peanut butter
Washcloths
GBHS is working to contain the virus
“This will be a temporary inconvenience for animal care and control services, but the risk to our citizens’ pets and to owners of pet-related businesses is too great if we do not begin containment of this virus immediately.
We have a major holiday approaching, and it is imperative that we do our best to stop this virus from infecting our community’s pets and private vet practices, groomers, doggie daycares, and boarding facilities.”
Allison Black Cornelius, Chief Executive Officer, Greater Birmingham Humane Society
Shelter medicine officials Cynda Crawford, DVM and Brendan Bergquist, DVM have advised GBHS officials the temporary closure may last as long as six weeks.
GBHS has stated they will re-open seven days after the last dog at Woodlawn breaks with the virus.
Below is a press conference held by GBHS to address dog lovers’ concerns.
Longtime conservationist. Former Executive Director at the Alabama Environmental Council and Wild South. Publisher of the Bama Environmental News for more than 18 years. Career highlights include playing an active role in the creation of Alabama's Forever Wild program, Little River Canyon National Preserve, Dugger Mountain Wilderness, preservation of special places throughout the East through the Wilderness Society and the strengthening (making more stringent) the state of Alabama's cancer risk and mercury standards.
