Fort Worth officials provide update on distemper outbreak in city’s animal shelters
.JPG "The Fort Worth North Animal Care and Adoption Campus")
Fort Worth Animal Care and Control will resume adoptions at PetSmart locations weeks after an outbreak of canine distemper in the city’s shelters forced them to pause, officials said.
Low-risk dogs from the city’s Silcox shelter will be transferred to PetSmart locations and be made available for adoption, according to a statement.
To be considered low-risk and ready for adoption, each animal must have tested negative for distemper at least once, have been in Fort Worth Animal Care for at least 21 days, have received at least two rounds of vaccinations including boosters and have been cleared by shelter staff, officials said.
Both city shelter locations remain closed to the public and volunteers, according to the statement.
Since the shelters’ closure on March 24, animal control staff have sent more than 1,000 samples to an outside lab to screen for distemper, officials said.
Of the 68 dogs originally diagnosed with the virus, veterinarians humanely euthanized 26 dogs to prevent the spread of the virus, according to the statement.
Animal Care and Control staff have also begun to process adoptions that were placed on hold at the time of the shelters’ closure, officials said.
