SAN ANTONIO — Within the past three weeks, San Antonio's Animal Care Services (ACS) has seen 40 dogs come in with parvovirus which translates into a 20 percent increase.
"If we're seeing animals come in that have this disease or this condition, it's because it's in the community," said Lisa Norwood, the public relations and outreach manager for ACS. "As pet guardians, we need to make sure that we're addressing that and addressing it humanely."
Parvovirus is a highly contagious disease among dogs, that can be deadly. It's mostly seen in puppies or dogs that haven't been vaccinated.
"It causes a severe diarrhea, dehydration, vomiting, makes them very, very sick and lethargic," said Dr. Mark Stickney, Chief Veterinarian for Spay Neuter Network.
Dr. Stickney explains that the disease is most often found in dog parks or places where the water doesn't drain well.
"It will persist in the environment for months and months and months," he said. "If it doesn't get cold during the winter time, that virus will just sit there in the soil and as soon as it warms up and starts to get wet, it will reactivate."
As a result, during rainier months, ACS will see more cases than usual. At ACS, when a dog tests positive for parvovirus, they do whatever possible to stop the spread.
"We have a lot of protocols in place to ensure that when we do suspect that there's an animal that's come in with a communicable disease like parvo, all of those protocols start to go in place immediately,” Norwood said.
Some cases, she explained are dormant in dogs for years. ACS is pleading with pet owners to do their part, since the disease can be prevented with pet owners providing up-to-date vaccinations.
"Unfortunately, owners in our community are not providing the protective vaccinations that their pets need," Norwood said. "Not just the protected vaccinations that their pets require, like rabies, vaccinations which are required by law, but things like distemper, things like parvo, they're in our community. Dogs are dying in our community."
San Antonio's Animal Care Services provides partners with organizations to provide free or low-cost vaccinations for dogs. The Spay Neuter Network also offers low-cost vaccinations for dogs.