TAMPA, Fla. — It's been a tough go, to say the least, these past two and a half weeks at the Humane Society of Tampa Bay following an outbreak of canine influenza that forced the shelter to take drastic measures to contain the virus.
But now, shelter workers say they're ready to start accepting animals again.
In its 112 years of existence, this was the first time the Humane Society of Tampa Bay had stopped accepting dogs.
It was an extreme, but temporary measure they said they had to take to overcome what has become a rampant case of dog flu.
A few days ago, the Cruz family found a dog named Champion, but they couldn't bring it to the Humane Society because the shelter had stopped taking dogs temporarily.
“Well, they did it for safety. That's something we've got to understand,” said Nestor Cruz. “Like me personally, when they said that 'we're not allowing any dogs,' well, I've got to keep it home.”
It turns out Champion had a chip and was reunited with his owner. But, that left the Cruz family realizing how much they liked having a dog.
So, they came back to the shelter, looking for another one – confident that the canine flu cases had run their course.
“Now we want to get a puppy and actually train it. We got a cage,” said Amanda Gonzalez.
“We got a bed. Toys. Food. Everything,” said Cristina Cruz. “So, now we're looking for another dog.”
“Most of them were very understanding of what we were trying to do,” said the Humane Society’s CEO, Sherry Silk.
Silk says they're cautiously optimistic.
For the past 17 days, veterinarians treated all of the dogs whether they showed canine flu symptoms or not.
Those still having issues, she said, have been quarantined until they recover.
“Every single dog in this building has been vaccinated for K9 and influenza,” said Silk. “We've sent bloodwork out so that we know what their status is. So, I think we've done everything humanly possible to make sure our animals are healthy.”
The two-and-a-half weeks of not accepting dogs has also created vacancies. Around 46 open cages. But they're confident those will fill quickly. So, the shelter is also asking people who can to keep fostering.
They’re offering free food and medication to those willing to care for the canines a little longer, as part of what they’re calling their new stray diversion program.
“As we adopt animals and cages opened up, then we will have room for more,” said Silk.
Shelter workers expect there could very well be a rush of drop-offs as those who have taken it upon themselves to care for stray animals over these past 2 1/2 weeks will now be looking to drop them off at the shelter’s intake area.
The shelter had continued to accept rabbits, cats, and exotic pets during the break from accepting dogs since those animals are not impacted by the virus.