Cincinnati Animal CARE pauses all dog operations due to uptick in upper respiratory infection symptoms

CINCINNATI — Cincinnati Animal CARE (CAC) is pausing all dog operations for the general public after seeing an uptick in upper respiratory infection symptoms, according to the nonprofit.

“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,” a spokesperson for the organization wrote on Facebook Sunday.

CAC is asking the community to help limit the number of animals coming into the shelter, including strays.

“While obviously there is never an ideal time to pause operations, this will be additionally challenging as we’ve taken in 389 new animals in the last three weeks,” the organization said. “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.”

According to CAC, the shelter should be a last resort for any lost animal. If you find a dog wandering your neighborhood, and it is safe to approach, start knocking on five doors in both directions to see if anyone knows where it belongs. You can also post pictures of the dog on social media and reach out to vets and pet stores to see if they can scan for a microchip. If you contact CAC, the organization can file a found dog report and work to help get the dog back to its home without it entering the facility.

“This will alleviate pressure on staff and volunteers, as well as the dogs themselves, should we need to extend our pause in daily operations,” CAC said.

It is unclear how long this pause will be in place. The organization said it is awaiting upper respiratory infection test results.

“Transparency with our community is non-negotiable, so when issues like this arise, we want to include you in the plan,” CAC said. “It is the best way to maximize lifesaving and face any challenge head-on.”

The nonprofit said its leadership team and medical staff have a plan in place for incidents like this, but there will be disruptions in the adoption process.

CAC did not say what type of virus they are worried about spreading in the facility. However, earlier this year, CAC’s Colerain Avenue shelter was locked down for two months due to a canine distemper virus (CDV) outbreak. The highly contagious virus causes multiple symptoms, including fever, cough, swelling of paw pads, nasal and eye discharge, gastrointestinal distress and more.

Officials said they were forced to euthanize dogs that were very sick because they didn’t have the space to house and treat them for the length of time they would need to be in isolation. During the outbreak, shelter officials tested and retested more than 300 dogs and successfully treated nearly 100 infected dogs. The shelter reopened to the public in June.

CAC said cat operations are not impacted and Kitty City in Northside will remain open and have normal operating hours.

If you are interested in donating to the organization, click here.

If you are interested in learning more about opening your home to foster dogs, click here. The shelter said once normal operations resume, hundreds of dogs will be in need of foster homes.