The Santa Cruz County Animal Shelter in Watsonville at 580 Airport Blvd. will be closed to the public until at least Oct. 29 after doctors diagnosed cases of canine parvovirus and feline panleukopenia.
Both diseases are highly contagious and can be deadly.
Shelter veterinarian Maris Brenn-White made the decision to prevent spread and protect the lives of other animals at that location, and at the Santa Cruz shelter location, the shelter stated in a press release.
Brenn-White identified a case of parvovirus in a recently arrived stray puppy on Oct. 18, prompting the shelter to pause the intake of dogs at the Watsonville shelter so staff could clean and disinfect.
Then, on Oct. 22, two stray kittens at the shelter were discovered to have feline panleukopenia.
Both illnesses are life-threatening, particularly to unvaccinated puppies and kittens, and can spread rapidly through direct contact and contaminated surfaces.
Shelters have an inherent risk for introduction of contagious diseases because unvaccinated animals can acquire infections but not show symptoms for many days, the shelter stated.
Furthermore, vaccines provided upon intake at a shelter take a week or two to be fully effective.
All animals at the Watsonville shelter have been evaluated and are being quarantined and cared for until they can be medically cleared to move to the Santa Cruz location, where they’ll be made available for adoption.
“Meanwhile, the shelter is undergoing a thorough cleaning and disinfection process, and the Watsonville location will be reopened once we are confident it is safe for animals, staff, and visitors,” the shelter stated.
During the closure, the shelter will not be accepting new animals or processing adoptions at that location.
The Santa Cruz shelter location at 1001 Rodriguez St. remains open, every day from 11am to 6pm.
