Distemper Nightmare

[MushroomSlug]

TW: Death of Animals

Buckle up for this one because it's pretty intense.

I used to work at a shelter and I left recently to finish vet med so I could do more for my local shelter since no vets in our area want to do any shelter work (it's whatever, people do what they want). This place is pretty near and dear to me so I keep up with what's going on and try to help out when I can. I'm over the TNR program there so I'm usually there once a week anyway.

Continuing, I had heard from some of my friends there that it was just insanely stressful. Things have gone downhill. They think there's been a Distemper outbreak and everything is just going wrong. We planned to meet up for lunch and talk about everything that had happened since I left. Well, that lunch still hasn't happened because it just continued to decline from there.

The shelter completely shutdown. No stray intakes, surrenders, anything. No outside people. Staff only. Puppies have just been dying off and it's been a nightmare.

Fast forward to today (this all started about a week ago), I wake up to calls from our Director. And texts asking me to please call her, there's been an emergency situation. So I called her and she started telling me about a pregnant mother dog that was there and she desperately needed to get her out because if she stayed the puppies would probably not survive. She asked if I could help and I said of course and she told me she'd call me back once she got out of a meeting to give me more details. Good.

About an hour after that I get a text from one of my old bosses/friend at the shelter telling me the dog was going into labor right then. Great.

So we got ourselves together and just continued with the plan of me picking them up. They still hadn't been exposed so we had a little window of time. I got there, went over some paperwork , got some supplies, then pulled around back so some of the staff working in the 'okay' area could load her in the car. We couldn't get out of the car for safety reasons.

So, long story short, Blackberry (I may change this name) and her 6 (or 7, I truthfully haven't counted yet because I've been letting her settle) puppies are now here with me, at my home, in a warm room away from any stress. I'm sort of in love with her already. She was scared, which is to be expected. We had a little talk and she ate for me. Big win. And her babies all seem like healthy little sausage links.

I'm just happy they're out. I had no idea how bad it had gotten. Going in today was so sad. Multiple people were crying. Stress levels are so high. Any prayers, good vibes, healing wishes, etc. for the workers would be much appreciated. I honestly can't imagine how it's hitting them. Hopefully it'll pass soon.

But on the brighter side, if anyone is interested in pictures of these beautiful babies and their sweet mama I will post some once she gets settled in and comfortable. <3

[Vlette]

That sounds horrible :c I am so sorry your shelter is going through such a hard time and good on you for takin in that momma- I'd love to see pictures of the little babies!

[catavamp]

Bless you for taking in mom and pups.
Sounds like you are near me. 2 weeks ago today my roommate was out walking and witnessed a dog hit by a car, and brought it home to watch overnight (Dogs ok, bumps and bruises and a little shocky) it was after midnight when it happened so next morning we started by calling the City pound to find out they were shut down. All the local rescues were also full and The one that takes injured animals said he wasn't critical enough for them. We already own 3 male dogs 2 of which are dog aggressive, so after much rearranging we squeezed in another crate while waiting for a rescue group to clear room and eventually he's going to get a freedom ride out of our state to where there are more homes.

[Foulcat]

Thank you for your work. I wish you good luck in the vet school. A distemper outbreak sounds horrible. Is it only contained in the shelter or did it spread to stray and pet dogs?

[catavamp]

Not sure where Op is but in my area it's spread not only to stray and pet dogs but also wildlife. Several racoons and a fox have been found with neurologic symptoms and had to be humanely euthanized. Thankfully the stray we took in was ok, other than road rash and bruises. He's already been adopted by a family less than 24 hours after arriving in his new state up north.

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His new family named him Jack