Baltimore animal shelter halts dog intake due to uptick in highly contagious respiratory illness

BALTIMORE - The Baltimore Animal Rescue and Care Shelter (BARCS) is temporarily halting dog intakes because of a "significant uptick" of a respiratory virus, according to the animal shelter.

BARCS said there have been growing cases of Canine Infectious Respiratory Disease Complex (CIRDC) over the past six to eight weeks. Some of the dogs are not responding to treatment and have since gotten pneumonia, and are being isolated.

The affected dogs will continue to be quarantined, treated and tested, the animal shelter said. BARCS will reassess this decision in two weeks.

"To save and protect the animals currently in our shelter, it is necessary to pause dog intakes while we focus our resources on treatment and containment," said Dr. Bobbie Mammato, BARCS Chief Medical Officer. "The safest place for a healthy dog right now is with their owner, and we need pet owners and our community to work together to delay surrendering dogs or bringing in lost dogs until BARCS is in a better situation to safely care for them."

What is CIRDC?  

According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, CIRDC is a highly contagious respiratory illness for dogs. The illness, also known as "kennel cough," is often spread in settings where multiple dogs are gathered or housed, including kennels, shelters or daycare facilities.

Some of the symptoms include a sudden "honking cough" or gagging, lethargy, decreased appetite, fever and labored breathing, according to the AVMA.

Older dogs, puppies and dogs with other illnesses are the most susceptible to the virus.

Slow the spread of CIRDC by taking the following actions:

• Update your pets' vaccination.
• Make sure your dogs only interact with dogs you know are healthy and have not been exposed to sick dogs.
• If your dog shows signs of CIRDC, including coughing, nasal discharge or lethargy, contact a veterinarian.

BARCS officials also shared the following ways that the community can help reduce the strain on shelters:

• Most lost pets are found close to home. Ask your neighbors if they recognize the pet or post photos to social media and pet recovery pages.
• Use Petco Love Lost's face recognition tool to identify a pet and reconnect them with family
• Put up flyers of the lost pet to alert others in the community
• Scan for a microchip if you find a lost animal. The pet can be scanned for a microchip at a local animal hospital or shelter.