Oak Ridge Today

Animal Shelter reopens Tuesday; changes made after distemper outbreak

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Oak Ridge Animal Shelter

The Oak Ridge Animal Shelter on Belgrade Road is pictured above.

Changes have been made, and the Oak Ridge Animal Shelter will reopen Tuesday after a temporary closure last week following the second distemper outbreak this year, city officials said.

The shelter staff will show reporters the changes that have been made to protect animals during an 8:30 a.m. Tuesday tour, and the shelter will open to the public at 11 a.m.

The Oak Ridge Animal Shelter is located at 395 Belgrade Road.

City officials said last week that 51 animals were euthanized because of this month’s distemper outbreak, and the shelter was temporarily closed after canine distemper tests came back positive. All dogs that tested positive were euthanized to prevent the disease from spreading. [Read more…]

Animal Shelter closed temporarily after canine distemper confirmed

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Oak Ridge Animal Shelter

The Oak Ridge Animal Shelter on Belgrade Road is pictured above.

The Oak Ridge Animal Shelter is temporarily closed after canine distemper tests came back positive.

All dogs in the Animal Shelter that tested positive have been euthanized to prevent the disease from spreading, and the shelter staff is taking measures to prevent widespread infection within the canine community, a City of Oak Ridge press release said. Those preventive measures include cleaning and disinfecting.

The canine distemper tests were conducted by the University Of Tennessee College Of Veterinary Medicine. The Animal Shelter could reopen at 11 a.m. Tuesday, October 28.

The Animal Shelter had a distemper outbreak in March of this year, and the staff started taking precautions by vaccinating all animals on intake, the press release said. However, this time the animal was turned into the Animal Shelter already infected with distemper. [Read more…]