Cincinnati’s only animal shelter pauses dog adoptions, suspects uptick in infection cases

Cincinnati’s only animal shelter is pausing dog services, including adoptions, due to a concerning number of dogs presenting with symptoms of an upper respiratory infection.

Members of the Cincinnati Animal Care team have observed the trend over the weekend, according to a Sunday Facebook post. They’re asking the community to help restrict the number of animals coming into the shelter − even strays.

“Out of an abundance of caution, we will be briefly pausing all dog operations for the general public while we await test results,” the post reads. “We do not want to cause alarm, but with a high volume of unvaccinated stray dogs coming into the shelter, we don’t want to take any unnecessary risks with our population and our community.”

Cincinnati Animal Care operates Hamilton County’s only animal shelter and is responsible for the county’s dog warden and animal control services, according to its website. The shelter has taken in nearly 400 new animals in the last three weeks.

As a no-kill shelter, Cincinnati Animal Care’s facility is already very full. They encourage anyone who finds a stray dog to hold them at home, if possible, as long as the animal is safe to approach.

In those situations, one should knock on five doors in both directions of where the dog was found to see if anyone knows where the animal belongs. The organization can help find a dog’s home without the dog coming into the facility by taking pictures and calling 513-541-7387 to file a found dog report. There are also helpful instructions on their website.

“A stray dog DOES NOT have to come to the shelter. Keeping them out of the shelter as long as possible is the best course of action for any dog right now,” the Facebook post reads. “This will alleviate pressure on staff and volunteers, as well as the dogs themselves, should we need to extend our pause in daily operations.”

Kitty City, located at 4210 Dane Avenue in Northside, will remain open with regular hours of 1-6 p.m. as cats remain unaffected by the infection.

Those wishing to support the shelter can do so by donating online, sending supplies to the shelter’s Amazon and Chewy wish lists or applying to foster animals once they resume normal operations.