Cumberland County animal shelter temporarily closed by viral outbreak

Cumberland County Animal Services is temporarily closed due to a canine parvovirus outbreak, according to a news release.

"All dogs and puppies entering the Cumberland County Animal Services shelter are vaccinated against CPV upon intake if they are old enough. Unfortunately, this action does not prevent an infected animal from appearing healthy and entering the shelter," Elaine B. Smith, Animal Services director said in the release Friday.

The animal shelter has halted all non-emergency dog intake until March 18 due to the highly contagious and often deadly virus, according to the release.

Canine parvovirus causes diarrhea, vomiting, lethargy, weakness and fever, the release said. The virus is spread by exposure to feces, the shelter states, and dogs with at least two vaccines, with the last one at least two weeks prior to exposure to the virus are relatively protected. The earlier an infection is diagnosed and treated, the more likely the animals are to recover well, the release said.

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According to Animal Services, fully vaccinated dogs will be available for adoption if they show no signs of illness. Anyone who adopted a pet from the shelter is asked to have the animal examined as soon as possible and to isolate the new pet from existing pets 10 to 14 days.

During the quarantine, the animal shelter asks members of the community who take in a stray dog to post on social media to locate its owner.

More information about the canine parvovirus can be found online at sheltermedicine.com.

Public safety reporter Joseph Pierre can be reached at jpierre@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on The Fayetteville Observer: Cumberland County Animal Services temporarily closed due to virus