Gander shelter with distemper outbreak faces sad decision

[Catherine]

Gander Newfoundland is in an isolated area.  A puppy came into the shelter with distemper and was euthanized. It is incurable and very contagious. Sadly all but two adult dogs now are showing signs of the disease. Those two dogs are being quarantined and it is hoped that they will be okay. The rest are going to be euthanized to prevent further spread of the disease.



http://www.thetelegram.com/news/local/al...ed-244545/

I feel for the shelter staff. Distemper is such a terrible illness. Even now all we can do is prevent it with vaccination. 
Sadly many dogs have not been vaccinated. Even if they vaccinated dogs on arrival at the shelter there may not have been enough time for immunity to be established. No matter how careful they were, distemper spreads quickly. I can understand the fear that it could spread to surrounding wildlife. There is no happy outcome for this situation. All they can do is prevent worse from happening.

The shelter itself needs a new building with proper isolation rooms. The older buildings were built before we understood the need for such things. It is sad that this has happened. I just hope this motivates the community to  raise the money to build a new shelter so nothing like this ever happens again.