My experience agrees with yours, Patty - though we are in very different geographical locations, I've been relatively surprised to see how "shelter parvo" responds well to prompt treatment. The worst cases of parvo I tend to see are in older dogs (worse because the dogs have been owned and loved for at least a few years and because severe vomiting and diarrhea is definitely harder to deal with in a 75-pound dog than in a 10-pound puppy; also because the stool and vomit have been bloodier and smellier). Of course, it's also possible that a lot of the cases we call parvo are not actually parvo - because we rarely do virology. Also - what is the status with relative genetic resistance to parvo? I had heard that dogs with predominantly black coats were less resistant than other types, but I'm wondering if that's still true.

brebis noire March 17th, 2009 08:10:24 AM

I suspect the answer will depend on what Oprah says (or doesn't say) to her followers.  I think I'll hope that Oprah is stumulated to inform and help reform shelters to reduce the incidence of communicable diseases.

I lost a kitten to shelter distemper nearly 30 years ago.  I've had a distinct preference for well run rescue group adoptions ever since (that is on the rare occasions when I have space available and someone hasn't camped on my doorstep).

PJBoosinger March 17th, 2009 08:53:33 AM

Well, I hate to say this, but in our area, for the longest time- shelter cat adoptions just meant adopting an animal to die in your home. I adopted one cat from our main shelter- he died within 6 days, with vet care, and my vet was stumped as to what his problem actually was. Thinking this was a fluke, I adopted again from the shelter only to have that beautiful black and white male put to sleep from distemper (distemper is such a horrible disease- it's horrible, horrible!). He originally had a horrible URI and as soon as he recovered, distemper symptoms appeared. It came on so fast, I didn't even know what hit him and I made his appointment for the vet to examine him, but it ended up being an appointment to euthanize him. Then I adopted from a different shelter and this cat had horrible, horrible upper respiratory infection. With vet care and fluids and meds, she still passed away. Working in a vet hospital, most of the kittens adopted from the shelters did NOT make it. I had one die in my hands- it was horrific. The cats I had adopted- one was 10 months old, one was 3 years old, and one was 2 years old. They should have been stronger- they should have had a chance. They didn't. Maybe it's just our shelters, but I have ALWAYS pointed people towards our rescue groups for adoption. I've adopted from local rescue groups and have had NO issues at all. One of my cats, a former feral, is missing one eye, and has not had a sick day in his entire life (with me- obviously, he had issues since he lost an eye out there on the streets!). Dogs? They don't seem to have it AS bad here. Parvo? Sadly, yes. And distemper at times. But the majority of them seem to make it through the shelters relatively unscathed. I figure recommending adopting from a rescue group will free up more space in the rescue, which will prevent one more from going INTO the shelter system as is. That's my reasoning behind it, at least.

Emma March 17th, 2009 09:17:49 AM

PS- the first cat from the shelter did NOT have distemper. It is a long story, but he had some apparently congenital problems and being in the shelter system did not help him. The shelter wouldn't even neuter him before adopting him out because his bloodwork was wonky.

Emma March 17th, 2009 09:19:14 AM

Here's an old post on the one dog I've had to euthanize from a shelter in the past couple of years. Distemper. In the post I explain how I do not recommend my local shelter when my clients ask where they can adopt a needy stray. Instead, I send them to reputable rescues. Not all shelters and not all rescues are created equal.

It's depressing to know that almost every unowned or unwanted pet that enters the main municipal shelter in my area gets some infectious disease that requires treatment. It's a shame I have to refer my clients to other facilities, knowing as I do that the animals housed in the main shelter will be killed at a rate of 150 a day. But do you blame me for directing them to healthier pets? 

For myself, however, I'd be more willing to look to my shelter. At least I know I can treat the vast majority. And one silver lining: most of the breed rescues hand-pick from the main shelter so that the lucky ones that look like purebreds do usually end up getting homes.

Dr. Patty Khuly March 17th, 2009 09:35:54 AM

I just wanted to add that I too have had nothing but wonderful experiences with rescue organizations. In fact, I've worked with one before, and they have their own vet that pets go to even if they have gotten a clean bill of health from a shelter. They also won't adopt a pet out if it is sick at all. I've been to our local shelter, and while it's heartbreaking, it's also a necessary evil, but I can't bring myself to adopt from them, fearing a sick dog and high vet fees, not to mention the emotional toll. I just wish there was something more we could do to help the shelters adopt out healthy dogs. I suppose that is a whole other post though.

Kara March 17th, 2009 09:45:18 AM

Even adopting from a rescue, you still may see health problems down the line, because you're often inheriting the results of somebody else's poor care.  My shelter ferrets have all had digestive or other diet-linked issues due to being fed a poor diet at the beginning of their lives, along with poor muscle tone and lack of coordination from being caged all the time.  I can fix the latter, but the damage is done by the former.  Unfortunately I can't expect a shelter ferret to live as long or be generally as healthy as a ferret that has had a balanced diet and plenty of exercise its whole life.  I keep adopting anyway, though, because despite the heartbreak (and the veterinary expense) it's worth it to give good lives to needy weasels.   Seeing them blossom into happy active ferrets is a true joy.  But I think it's something perhaps people ought to be prepared for when adopting any animal whose life history isn't known/is known to have been of poor quality or neglect.

regina March 17th, 2009 10:04:27 AM

Oh my. I've been reading bits and pieces of this news of Oprahs' for the past few days.. how the shelter didn't follow proper, common (disease controlling) protocol, how O donated tons of money to the shelter and it just went for a room that not many animals can utilize or enjoy.. but this is the first meaningful post I've read!

I'm with Regina (above), except where her's says "ferrets", mine would say "dogs". I hope that if Oprah makes a show of it, she'll say what she's learned and how to be better prepared the next time she adopts.

Jen March 17th, 2009 10:45:04 AM

Shelters are so different! Our town shelter (where we found one of my cats) quarantines and medically evaluates (including bloodwork on a case by case basis) new animals before putting them out for adoption. I've heard people criticize the shelter for a zero-tolerance policy towards certain infections, but it's true that their animals are typically healthy, despite the colds and coughs that make their rounds from time to time. The shelter fees hover around $100 (the animals come altered with their shots), so in some ways it's like adopting from a rescue. I don't know if they work with foster homes or not.

My other cats were listed through another shelter with a very nice online adoptables page, but they were actually born in a foster home, so they haven't been exposed to much. They came with shots, and we had to fax back proof of neuter to seal the deal. The foster mom was very helpful while one of the boys was still adjusting to our home, and we still keep in touch with pictures and updates.

Other animal control facilities around adopt out as-is animals for $20 but some of them empty the facility (euphemism) from time to time. Parvo outbreaks seem to cause the most heartache.

Sarah March 17th, 2009 11:12:54 AM

Hopefully the message that will get out is that so many "shelters" - I think we should go back to calling them dog pounds - have poor to nil disease prevention protocols.  Quarantine and sanitation are really not that difficult but if the government agency running the pound doesn't care, and if the staff doesn't care then it doesn't get done and then even more animals die needlessly.  It will take the outrage of the community to get things changed.

Another reason to promote Winograd's No Kill Equation!!

I wonder if Oprah has ever read it?  Wouldn't it be amazing if she promoted Redemption in her Book Club?

Barb March 17th, 2009 11:53:31 AM

Barb: Perhaps we should all send her an email to that effect. Here's her email address for letters she may read on her show. 

Dr. Patty Khuly March 17th, 2009 12:03:57 PM

Better watch out for what she says on the show!  Remember when she made the Church of Oprah stop buying beef products and then had some legal trouble about it?  Next thing you know dogs will be passé for the Oprah congregation.

Chuck March 17th, 2009 12:06:55 PM

Excellent idea, Dr. Patty!

I just sent Oprah an email.  I am thinking that I should mail her a copy of Redemption!

Come on everybody - let's send her the message!

Barb March 17th, 2009 12:56:45 PM

I was rather appalled by the description of how the puppies came to be born:

http://www.thedeskofangelabrown.com/puppies.html

Susan March 17th, 2009 01:27:03 PM

Since the subject of the book Redemption came up, may I ask a question about the book? I have not actually read the book myself, but I've read plenty about it. The largest oposition to the book seems to be that by a shelter going no kill, it must it return, greatly reduce the number of owner surrenders and unwanted dogs turned over by the public themselves. I live in the Houston, TX area (don't even get me started on BARC!) But, I was wondering how a shelter could take in so many owner surrenders as they do now and still operate at a no-kill status? Just as a number for comparison, I read that the Houston shelter (BARC), took in some 25,000 animals in 2005 and was running at an 80% euthanization rate.

Kara March 17th, 2009 01:59:10 PM

A no-kill shelter would be sending pets into foster care, rescue groups, and other shelters with space and active demand for animals. Many shelters now actually import animals to meet adopter demand, while others struggle to even get a handful of adoptions. If those two classes of shelter worked together better, we could come to a good outcome for everyone.

Pai March 17th, 2009 02:34:33 PM

Kara, aren't we doing a lovely job here in Houston?  I don't think it's feasible to have no kill shelters here until we do a better job of making low cost (dare I ask for no cost?) spay/neuter available.  (Two facilities and one referral line for all of Greater Houston?  Come on!)  My personal experience in contacting no kill shelters in this area is that they are ALWAYS full up.  Yes, they don't kill; no, they don't take all the animals offered up to them.  If you want more, here's a good link to start at http://www.nokill1.org/shelter_list2006.pdf and, if you're interested in the local no kill movement, http://www.nokillhouston.com/

OK, SNAP does do 24 free spay/neuters per day but they have over 100 hopefulls lined up every morning.  I've been in the low cost clinic with snagged feral cats and it's a zoo (and the staff is obnoxious and rude); can't imagine what they're like on the freebies.

PJBoosinger March 17th, 2009 03:38:11 PM

PJ- A fellow Houstonian! Yes, our city is horrible when it comes to animal welfare. I'm actually on the outside of it, in Montgomery county. I'm also a magnet for unwanted dogs. The latest was dumped on me at Walmart a couple months ago...puppy in the back of the truck...nice. Being that I have two large dogs, I couldn't keep puppy...luckily I found someone to keep him, but in the process of that I researched no kill shelters in the area, and what little I could find wouldn't take him. I finally ended up calling the rescue I got my lab mix from (hey, I scratched their back!) and was told the only way I could enroll the puppy was to be a foster. My next vehicle won't be a truck! Ha. I would love to know why more Veterinarians don't help out at BARC though. My vet has always given me a "reduced fee" when I bring in a stray, but I've also spent a great chunk of money there the last 9 years. I have heard about the nightmares at SNAP as well. I understand the feral problem, but I question these pet owners lined up for a free spay/neuter. Pets cost money, and if a simple spay/neuter is too much, perhaps you shouldn't own a pet? Then again, that's valuable adopters at our shelters! It's a never ending cycle it seems. I will be checking out the links you provided...thank you! And glad to see a fellow "neighbor" reading Dolittler...don't you just love her?

Kara March 17th, 2009 04:03:18 PM

"the only way I could enroll the puppy was to be a foster"  Yep, been there.  And they mean permanent foster in most cases :)  There are quite a few of us who will only do "emergency, short term" fosters and they'll wear you out even then.  "Dolittler...don't you just love her?"  I still a newbie here but I love her because she lets us disagree and that's rather novel these days!

PJBoo9@yahoo.com

PJBoosinger March 17th, 2009 04:10:57 PM

Kara: Redemption is about changing the way we look at the problem of pet overpopulation. It's not a single-institutional solution we're looking for, it's a multi-institutional and community concept that, admittedly, requires significant public assistance. The idea is that if shelters aren't funded, the money is basically lost on kill-all euthanasia programs. If shelters are funded, the money goes into building a network of community-supporting services in which the wider public gets to participate

Sure, it's easier to get a money-losing ball park built--but that's because few have the vision to see where pets can enrich the community at a more grassroots level. And municipalities don't buy into Winograd's vision because they either haven't read the book or because the concept of changing how we deal with unwanted animals seems way too complicated for their tiny brains. Too many moving parts, as it were.

And that's exactly where my city is at: overwhelmed, underpaid bureaucrats with little to no imagination and poor organizational skills. Meanwhile, a nine-figure, property tax-funded ballpark is being voted on at the County Commission as we speak--and it's expected to pass. Until America smartens up, Winograd's vision isn't going anywhere.

Dr. Patty Khuly March 17th, 2009 04:11:20 PM

Susan, that story of the pups being born is very sad... So many excuses...

Megan March 17th, 2009 04:25:50 PM

The shelters in my area do a very good job in somehow keeping dogs with Parvo or Distemper from being adopted out. I'm not sure wheather it is vaccination, or quaarentine of new arrivals, but most of the pets we see have kennel cough at the worst. Not so with pet shop puppies that have all sorts of genetic problems waiting to pop out and bite the owner in the butt. Even after they have spent hundreds or thousands of dollars for the dog. Keith Niesenbaum, VMD www.crawforddogandcathospital.com

KNVET March 17th, 2009 04:26:37 PM

Patty and PJ, One more thing...Winograd WAS tapped to help out BARC (Houston's Animal control facility) BUT they wanted him to sign a clause stating that he could not publicly speak out about his findings. Makes you wonder,huh? http://blogs.houstonpress.com/hairballs/2009/01/winograd_barc_no-kill.php

Kara March 17th, 2009 05:05:10 PM

Uggghhh, my fear of the overcrowding, stress, and perhaps lack of manpower to keep up sanitary conditions.

I had my share of non-life threatening issues doing foster care: worms, mites, fleas, kennel cough, intestinal problems. And I'd say it was a 60/40 split of who came from shelters and direct from "homes"...both had issues.

No question though, I spoke with one person that her adoption and other pups soon dies after adoption in NH---the litter brought up from the South. Not a good feeling.

Barbara A./NH

Pocket's Story from NH March 17th, 2009 05:16:28 PM

I volunteered at a "downstate" Illinois shelter for about 9 years.  At least of when I stopped a few years ago, Illinois required a 10 day quarantine period.  Even if PAWS did follow protocol, is 10 days enough to see that an animal has parvo?  The very few times there was parvo it was usually caught while the animals were still quarantined.  But I do recall a time when some puppies were adopted and one later was diagnosed with parvo.

cheshire March 17th, 2009 07:11:50 PM

We see a fair number of pups from the Oklahoma City area animal shelters w/distemper...it's such a shame, especially when you hear new owners say, "I thought I was doing a good thing, adopting from a shelter, but I just don't know if I can go through this again" (after said distemper puppy is euthanized). Very, very frustrating. On the plus side, parvo cases usually do well, although their chances are unfortunately almost entirely dependent on the owner's finacial situation.

anna March 17th, 2009 07:26:30 PM

No Kill shelters that restrict admissions (in other words they turn a lot of pets away) and/or warehouse animals are not the solution, and not what Winograd means by "No Kill".  You have to actively find homes and placements for the animals rather than warehousing them.

There ARE enough homes - even in this economy, people are still actively seeking and acquiring new pets.  Basically the shelter community needs to do a better job of marketing the animals, and many of them aren't comfortable doing that.  Browbeating people with the nonsense that buying a puppy will cause a shelter pet to be killed just backfires.  You have to make them feel good about adopting a pet, and make the process easy - even fun! 

And I disagree that if someone can't pay for s/n, then they shouldn't have a pet.  Even a poor home - as long as they care about the pet and keep it well fed and comfortable - sure beats living in a shelter or on the street.  Or being killed for space.

If communities would make free or VERY low cost s/n readily available to everyone - even people with no transportation and no Internet - there would be no problem.  And programs like this cost a lot less than building huge new shelters and killing thousands of animals a year. 

It's really so simple, it makes you want to cry.

Barb March 17th, 2009 08:19:14 PM

I live in one county, work in another, and adopted my new dog in yet another.  Why?  The counties where I live and work have horrible shelters, with laughable budgets.  They are expected to do more and more, with less and less (after all, Michigan is in a recession!).  The county where I work now has a deal with a research company - the company disposes of all their 'bodies' in exchange for taking all the live animals to sell for research.  Quite a blow up in the local media about it!  The shelter manager says he has to do it - he can't bury the animals euthanized (no space to do it), he can't adopt them out (?), and it saves $5000 a year for the shelter - about 10% of their budget!  Grrrrr!

I got my dog from the next county over, which has a wonderful low kill shelter, with a huge volunteer staff.  They have great protocols for quarantining animals, and have deals with local vets for treating sick animals, and all animals are spuetered before being adopted out.  I got a wonderful border collie mix who is healthy, well behaved, and lucky enough to be found in the right county!  I'm also doing all I can to help out the shelters around here (donating food, blankets, supplies, a little time, and expertise).  I wish I could do more.  If everyone did a little something, we could save more animals.

Sassy March 17th, 2009 09:09:08 PM

I wish my treatment success rate for parvo approached 100%--sadly, it's much more like 75%. Most of my parvo patients are 8 weeks old and likely have no maternal antibodies (because they are probably coming from puppy mills where the parents aren't vaccinated). I hate parvo!

Re: Winograd & No Kill--I found the book's layout and language quite upsetting and distracting BUT once I got past that, I realized what he was getting at. WE CAN DO MORE in our shelter systems to get pets adopted. It just requires some creativity and resourcefulness.

JCB March 17th, 2009 09:20:59 PM

Another point I forgot to make: I see more parvo in puppies bought from a pet store than I do in puppies adopted from the shelter. Parvo happens.

JCB March 17th, 2009 09:24:52 PM

As I don't watch TV, and NPR is my usual news source and that's just on my 1 hour drive to and from work each day...I had not heard this sad story.

My entire career has been as a veterinary assistant, then LVT, then practice manager...from 1972 and have seen a lot, remember when Parvo first hit, remember the days when FELV was a new discovery and through the advent of vaccinations for those diseases etc...but it still comes down to education and proper training of shelter and foster staff that would have the greatest effect I think.

I have also bred Cornish Rex cats since 1989 and am very proud to say that I have only lost track of 1 cat in all those years and that was when the family divorced and I could no longer get in touch with them as their email, phone and mailing address weren't current. It is part of my contract when I sell a cat that if for any reason, the people chose to give it up, that I will take it back. That has happened a few times over the years and some I have rehabilitated and found the right new home for and others have remained with me. I currently have 7 cats, a small number for a breeder, but a number where I can live and love them as pets first and foremost.

I have over 400 bookmarked websites on all aspects of feline health, behavior, nutrition, etc and the people who have cats from me (and many who don't) contact me with questions and for advice anytime and just as being a tech makes me feel, I like ending my day knowing I helped someone take better care of their cat.

The practices I have worked with have their rescue and foster groups they like to work with and it's sometimes sad and very often frustrating to see the poor care and poor recordkeeping and not very educated foster homes that some of these animals are kept in. In my experience, the knowledgeable staffed ones are sadly in the minority.

But for someone interested in learning and being the best they can be, UC Davis has a wonderful Shelter medicine website that I have given to many shelter and foster and rescue people. 

http://www.sheltermedicine.com/about/welcome.php

I think the best client and the best pet owner is an educated one and I will do almost anything to that end. In my years of breeding, of course I have had health issues--URI's, Giardia, Ringworm, brought in with a new cat or brought home from a cat show. But when something like that happens, I am right on top of it, treating all the cats in the household if indicated, having my vets research new treatments on VIN and learning all I can to keep problems at a minimum. 

And I truly appreciate your blog, Dr K and continue to learn from all and many venues. 

Teri and the cats of Furrydance March 17th, 2009 09:40:27 PM

JCB: Those of us living far enough away from puppy mills probably have no idea what you have to go through. By the time the pups make it all the way down to Miami (usually from the midwest), I guess the horrible sickies are all but weeded out. I suspect many die in transit.

And Teri: I have no TV, either, and get most of my news on NPR and NYT/WSJ online. But someone Twittered about it a couple of days ago. Love my Twitter!

Dr. Patty Khuly March 18th, 2009 05:47:28 AM

I hope that this is a call to take better care of the overpopulation of pets, not the condemnation of the only system set up out there to take care of them.

It breaks my heart when I hear of shelters that people recommend people NOT go to... because you know what happens to any pet picked up and brought there.

It is a fact of life, that there are more homeless pets than homes. Until human beings get a handle on this, there will be issues with illness, poor breeding, poor nutrition leading to poor breeding, underage mothers who can't properly care for their offspring, and other such heart breaking tradgedies.

abandoning the shelters because these things happen is not the solution. I can only hope that Oprah's situation doesn't cause the back lash that I fear it will.

Connie March 18th, 2009 02:13:22 PM

It is a fact of life, that there are more homeless pets than homes.

Um, no, not correct. More new pets are acquired every year from every source than go through the shelter system. Bump up the percentage that are adopted from shelters by only two or three percentage points, and the result would be shelter that truly had only animals in transition from one home to the next, and the very small number of animals that are truly not suitable for adoption as pets.

The way to get to that happy place, though, is not by guilting people into adopting sickly animals who will quickly die or need to be euthanized because of diseases acquired or not treated quickly enough in the shelter system, but to push the shelters to provide proper care of the animals they are "sheltering"--and that means both proper health care, and conditions that don't turn a friendly, well-adjusted animal into a kennel-stressed, "unadoptable" shelter death statistic.

Many shelters, in all parts of the country, have already changed. The rest need to.

Lis March 18th, 2009 02:35:24 PM

Connie: I agree, it's a push and pull. Yes, it's true that when we advocate for private "rescues" instead of shelters we condemn the shelters to greater ruin. That's why we've got to work on both ends simultaneously.

The rescues that take in shelter pets are helping. Those veterinarians who do low-cost spay and neuters are helping. Those who advocate for one way or another without understanding the dynamics may, in fact, be hurting everyone. The truth is always more subtle and more powerful.

Dr. Patty Khuly March 18th, 2009 07:29:30 PM

Such a sad story but I have one of my own. My 20 month old Shih Tzu just died... I am being told it was a bacterial infection by the vet...but It sounds like Parvo. She has been healthy all along but may have met an infected dog, or along the walking trail smelled or came into contact with infected poop. I was not told how to take care of her and had no time to troll the internet. My baby died because the vet felt it was a lost cause and I being on my last dime didnt have funds... I go to shelters here and see sick dogs... but worse, I have been treated like a sick dog..."go to pet finder... find a dog... oh you found one ( I never get to meet the dog and see if its good for me, which is who its about really...) Fill out forms... oh you dont have a yard? You crated your last dog? You work and will leave the dog alone all day? ...You cant have a dog...get a goldfish... I have tried Craigs list...small rehoming fee... Yeah right...these people are selling their "pets" dogs on Craigslist for hundreds of dollars... So I am going to do the unthinkable to most people. I am going back to the loving kind hearted breeder of my beloved and getting a new puppy. She will help me choose, keep the pup for 12-14 weeks till its really ready to be away from its Mum... house break it (Annabelle was fully house trained at 12 weeks when I got her)the new arrival will be vaccinated and garunteed... a known quantity since I can meet the parents. I will have exactly what I want and not inherit a bunch of issues and further more I dont have to sign a rediculous contract that says if I want to do something with my dog I can and not answer to anyone, after all its my dog... People need to get their creatures fixed pure and simple. But people need to get off the back of good honest loving breeders who care about what they do

Hokulea Kealoha March 18th, 2009 10:11:15 PM

All I can say is that the cocker who had Oprah's puppies should have been spayed as soon as Angela took her in. That would have solved the problem right there.

Brooke March 19th, 2009 01:41:39 PM

Sassy, what Michigan shelter did you adopt from? I'm at the end stages of my dog training education and will soon be looking for a good shelter to complete my volunteer hours at.

SMaki March 19th, 2009 03:10:40 PM

All I can say is that the cocker who had Oprah's puppies should have been spayed as soon as Angela took her in. That would have solved the problem right there.

I haven't  seen anything to suggest the mother got pregnant after she arrived at the shelter--do you have reason to believe that she did?

Or do you, instead, believe that if an animal comes in pregnant, the ONLY correct course is to do an immediate spay-abort?

Lis March 19th, 2009 06:30:18 PM

Lis: I'm all for spay-abort. If the dog is pregnant but not imminently due, shelters should, IMO, spay and abort. I know it can be an unpopular opinion but I have little trouble aborting 'uncooked' babes in a minimal resources situation. 

Dr. Patty Khuly March 19th, 2009 08:24:03 PM

SMaki; I got my dog at  Isabella County Animal Control, which is run by HATS, the Humane Animal Treatment Society.  It is in Mt Pleasant (where the Soaring Eagle Casino is located).  There are 2 or 3 paid employees, all the rest are volunteers, and they are dedicated!  They just built a new facility with quarantine areas, all with donations.  The only animals that are euthanized, I understand, are the ones that are too sick to recover, or are considered too aggressive to adopt out.  They have lots of pit bulls, and if they can't adopt them right away, they have many foster homes to care for them. 

Sassy March 19th, 2009 09:45:51 PM

But, Dr. Khuly, the PAWS situation doesn't appear to be "limited resources", and we don't know at what stage of her pregnancy the dog came into their care. In fact, do we even know that she was still pregnant when she came in, rather than a nursing mother? (Maybe we do; I can't say that I've followed the saga of Oprah's pups closely until now.)

Lis March 19th, 2009 10:31:43 PM

Lis, read the link posted earlier: http://www.thedeskofangelabrown.com/puppies.html

The bitch was about four weeks pregnant when she was taken in by Angela. The pups were turned over to PAWS later.

Nightmare March 19th, 2009 10:53:34 PM

Dr. K: I'm glad you're volunteering at the huge feline sterilization event this weekend; you need to meet/talk with Dr. Pizano of Miami Dade's public animal shelter. Yes, it's horrendous; yes, we'll kill about 30,000 animals this year; yes, the facility's outdated by 40 yrs. and inadequate, and yes, it's underfunded and has inadequate staff. HOWEVER, much as I have to complain about Dr. Pizano does care and has taken great strides to improve quarantine/disease protocol; reintroduce volunteers after the police dept. kicked all volunteers out; she's increased adoptions/rescues and altho animals do die from disease and some are released with it the %'s are far better than in past years. To dissuade a resident from first considering a shelter pet for adoption is a HUGE disservice; far more pet store puppies and backyard bred animals are unvaccinated and/or have genetic issues that will kill them than shelter pets. Please reconsider your recommendations to the public; canine distemper and panleukopenia are far less prevalent than a few years ago; parvo as you state is usually easily overcome; adoption from the shelter is cost effective and SAVES LIVES. There are policies I disagree with and hopefully the more vets who work with the shelter the better your influence on their decisions will be: Dr. P. believes pit bulls should remain outlawed (thankfully a court challenge yesterday proved the 20 yr. old Dade county ban on pits doesn't hold up); Dr. P. believes separating nursing puppies from moms when rescues want to bottle feed the pups only and leave mom to be killed is ok; and the shelter WILL abort a pregnant dog prior to adoption/rescue even if the adopter/rescuer is willing to take on the litter regardless of how far along the babies' development is. That is inhumane to both the mom and the pups who are viable yet suffocate in their birth sacs. Regardless, the shelter doesn't deserve condemnation it NEEDS help. It is vastly underfunded while as you say the Marlins are set to receive a tax payer funded ballpark. More Miamians own pets than attend baseball games yet our wonderful Mayor (who was in charge of the police when the shelter was under their control adn not only ran the shelter and its programs into the ground, stopped vaccinating upon intake, was investigated for evaporating the million dollar plus trust fund into thin air from buying plasma tv's and new office furniture which no longer is there, kicked out volunteers and ran the place like a paramilitary camp vs. a public facility)ONLY wants the ballpark and a new shelter or more funding for what Miamians need and want is kicked like a sick dog to die on the side of the road. Please SUPPPORT shelter initiatives; the animals inside need all the help they can get. Not all are sick; the vast majority I've rescued in the last six years have not had dire, deadly diseases. Thanks.

Lee M. in Miami March 19th, 2009 11:08:21 PM

Lee: Don't worry, I do strongly recommend a variety of rescues I know to be well-run. Pet shops? I campaign actively against them. Back yard breeders? I dissuade but don't condemn. Officially (in my capacity as a Miami Herald writer and officer for the SFVMA) I support the municipal shelter any way I can, urging more adoptions, etc. But when one of my clients asks, I believe it's my job as a veterinarian to point them in the healthiest direction. 

As to Dr. P and Animal Services: Though Dr. Pizano and I disagree on a few areas (the pit bull ban, for one) I have always been able to maintain an open dialog with her. Since a couple of years ago when I began meeting with her regularly on a variety of issues I've learned first-hand what she's up against at Miami-Dade Animal Services––and it's horrible. She has almost no county funding beyond the monies received from dog licenses and she somehow still manages to improve the situation––though very slowly, as she has almost no staff. 

That's why I do low-cost spay/neuters and volunteer for spay and neuter days like the one this Sunday. I support the shelter wherever I can but I can't be expected to send my friends and family there to source a pet if I believe the animals there to be less healthy than at my local rescues--so why would I send a client?

Dr. Patty Khuly March 20th, 2009 05:41:41 AM

Stamford CT is a no-kill municipal shelter. Laurie Hollywood, the director, makes it happen. She has a non-profit that raises the funds for medical care. It CAN be done. You can read about her here: http://network.bestfriends.org/connecticut/news/32357.html

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