The Humane Society of Hall County was forced to euthanize most of the animals in its shelter Thursday in order to control an outbreak of respiratory disease.
Humane society president Rick Aiken said the illness was a contagious but typically non-fatal virus similar to kennel cough, or bordatella. Ironically, the society recently received a grant to vaccinate incoming animals against bordatella.
“Unfortunately, if an animal comes in and is already incubating the virus, the vaccine doesn’t do any good,” Aiken said. “And as a full-service shelter, we can’t turn animals away. We have to take everything that comes in.”
Even though the illness is not fatal, and the society provided free treatment for any adopted pet who became ill, Aiken said some owners were upset about adopting an animal that turned out to be sick.
“We had to make a decision,” he said. “Three or four days ago, we started isolating new animals that came in, and only one person could take care of them. Then, all the animals that had not been isolated would be euthanized.”
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