Garland's Animal Services Manager: "Outbreaks of this magnitude are rare . . ., no animals have been euthanized"

Uriel Villalpando, animal services manager at our city's animal shelter. Photo from garlandtx.gov.

Garland citizens may be interested in this full online interview with Uriel Villalpando, animal services manager at our city's animal shelter, regarding the canine-distemper outbreak and crisis that Garland's Animal Shelter has faced in recent days.

Garland citizens first became aware of the outbreak last Tuesday evening, August 3, when Mayor Pro Tem Rich Aubin, (district 5 councilmember), substituting for absent Garland Mayor Lori Barnett Dodson at the regular bi-monthly session, announced on TV that the outbreak had started and called on animal rescue organizations inside and outside of Garland to join hands in rescuing the animals.

Here are Uriel's answers (in regular type) to my questions (in bold):

1. How often do outbreaks like this happen in shelters in DFW and Texas? I understand the Houston Animal Shelter experienced the same thing last April. Do you know of others where this has happened this year? Are there any similarities between these, such as summertime, excessive heat, lack of air conditioning, etc.? Do outbreaks occur in winter as well as summer?

All shelters constantly deal with diseases like distemper but outbreaks of this magnitude are rare. We’ve read reports of similar outbreaks at various shelters nationwide, but nothing more than media reports. We don’t know enough about other outbreaks to make any comparisons.

2. How many dogs at the Garland Animal Shelter during this outbreak were diagnosed with distemper? And how many of those had to be euthanized? What did you do to try to limit the number of animals impacted, including those euthanized?

Up until today (8/14/18), a total of 33 dogs were diagnosed with distemper out of the 124 that we have tested. Out of the 33 dogs that tested positive, only six were in our care and have been transported to a vet clinic for treatment.

As soon as the first case was identified we began to implement control measures such as isolating symptomatic dogs and testing all animals at the shelter. We’ve since established temporary kennels to further isolate animals that have tested negative but may have since been exposed. Our goal is to clear the shelter of all potentially exposed animals by the end of today (8/14/18) and resume normal operations at the shelter. Potentially exposed animals will be housed at the temporary kennels until placement. Since the first case was identified, no animals have been humanely euthanized.

3. Why did this outbreak occur when it did—on the heels of a major uproar on City Council over the care of our animals at the shelter and the intervention of people outside Garland in the dispute? Were the critics right? Or is this just a case of coincidence?

Everything points to coincidence. The shelter has been operated the same this summer as it has been for decades so there’s no reason to believe this is anything more than a coincidence. Modern shelters are designed with disease control measures engineered into the facilities so perhaps we can look forward to a reduced chance of similar outbreaks in a new facility.

4. What could have been done to prevent the outbreak? And was it preventable? 

Staff takes routine control measures to prevent outbreaks like vaccinating all animals and sanitizing the shelter daily. The simple fact is, despite our best efforts the risk of disease in the shelter is ever present because disease is ever present in our community environment. We’re not aware of additional preventative measures to implement in light of the outbreak. We were already doing everything the experts recommend including vaccinating all animals on intake.

5. Would having a new Animal Shelter building like many of us have talked about been a factor in whether this outbreak occurred at all? Or can it/does it occur in new shelters as well?

As I stated previously, modern shelters are designed with disease control measures engineered into the buildings. That’s one major factor in why a new shelter is so expensive. New shelters are designed with several “pods” which are basically several small units of kennels where the units are completely separated. This is very effective in disease control because if one pod is affected by disease it is isolated to that small group of animals and will not affect animals in other pods.

6. As you think about planning for a new Garland Animal Shelter, do you have any ideas about what you would like in terms of square footage, location, design, etc.?

Yes, yes, and yes. I don’t want to “spill the beans” before we’ve had an opportunity to present our needs to the bond committee, but we have done lots of homework in preparation for the bond proposal. Much more to come…

7. Where does the city go from here in the aftermath of this outbreak?

We continue to implement disease control measures and practice good hygiene at the shelter. Make no mistake, a modern shelter isn’t a silver bullet. Under poor management, disease can spread in the most modern facility. Our staff is doing a great job but we’re limited by the facility. No matter what happens, we will continue to do the best job we can with the resources we have.

Next Louis Moore of Garland blog: Garland must move forward on this long-delayed project