Henderson animal shelter confirms first case of infectious respiratory disease

City of Henderson Animal Care and Control confirmed that a shelter dog was diagnosed with an infectious respiratory virus after the Review-Journal reported that an illness was spreading through the shelter Thursday morning.

The city of Henderson said in a news release that a dog was diagosed with canine Pneumovirus — a disease that makes dogs cough, sneeze and have nasal discharge.

The virus can progress into pneumonia and cause difficulty breathing, the city said.

Though only one case of the virus has been confirmed, the shelter said that several other dogs are suspected of having the virus based on symptoms. The virus is not contagious to humans or cats.

“Canine Pneumovirus is one of many contagious diseases in the Canine Infectious Respiratory Disease (CIRD) group,” Dr. Tessa Kronbetter, Veterinarian at Henderson Animal Shelter, said in a news release. “Our primary focus is identifying and treating potential cases while reducing exposure to other animals.”

Adoptions for cats and other animals are still open to the public at the shelter, but dog adoptions are temporarily closed. The shelter is also temporarily not accepting relishquished pets.

“We feel this change to operations is necessary to preserve the health of the more than 75 dogs we have here currently and prevent further spread of the virus,” Danielle Harney, Animal Control Administrator, said in the release. “We need to be transparent, and we hope our community can empathize with the difficult position we’re in.”