Northeast Georgia Animal Shelter Re-opens to Public Friday

The Northeast Georgia Animal Shelter will re-open Friday for those interested in adopting or having to surrender an animal, according to Shelter Director Tammi Jourdenais.

The shelter staff has been working to raise money to complete the new adoption wing, which will eliminate having to quarantine healthy adoptable dogs from any parvo outbreak.

But until that wing is completed, any time there’s an outbreak of parvo, by Georgia law, the shelter must close for two weeks, disinfect every area of the building, and quarantine existing dogs to keep the virus from infecting any new dogs or puppies coming to the shelter.

The Merck Veterinary Manual classifies the virus as a disease of the stomach and small intestines, as this is where the virus does the most damage.

This virus is highly contagious and spreads through direct contact with an infected dog or by indirect contact with a contaminated object.

A puppy is exposed to the parvovirus every time he sniffs, licks, or consumes infected feces.

That’s why it’s so important to keep litters of puppies in a clean, warm environment, and to pick up any dog feces. It’s also good to disinfect the area where the puppies and adult dogs are kept as soon as possible.

Indirect transmission occurs when a person who has recently been exposed to an infected dog touches a puppy, or when a puppy encounters a contaminated object, like a food or water bowl, collars and leashes, and the hands and clothing of people who handle infected dogs.

Meantime, Jourdenais said the shelter is already full but when it opens Friday, more dogs are expected to be turned in. That means more donations of food and cleaning supplies are needed.

Again, the Northeast Georgia Animal Shelter in Lavonia will re-open to the public on Friday at 11a.

The shelter is open Tuesdays and Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays from 11a to 4p and is located on Bear Creek Road in Lavonia.