The Gwinnett County animal shelter remained under quarantine Saturday after one dog died and another 19 were being treated after “getting very ill, very rapidly.”
The center was closed Friday after about two weeks of an ongoing illness in the animals. A veterinarian proscribed an antibiotic, Doxycycline, to the 150 dogs in the shelter but officials there had to scramble to get enough of the drug. They say they received enough to last through weekend and for the entire 10-day quarantine for all dogs in the shelter.
Shelter officials say they got a great response from the public after putting out their plight in the media. A Facebook page called “Helping Animals at the Gwinnett County Animal Shelter” put out a plea Friday for donations of canned dog food, blue Dawn liquid dish detergent and towels. The shelter got 700 cans of dog food, along with other supplies.
The shelter contacted the University of Georgia Veterinary college to determine what made the dogs sick. Testing will take about four days.
A temporary shelter has been set up and officials are calling people who have adopted or reclaimed some 130 dogs in the past two weeks.
Anyone with additional concerns or questions should email animalwelfare@gwinnettcounty.com.
