Third distemper case confirmed, shelter closed

Horry County Humane Society officials have closed their shelter and are euthanizing scores of dogs believed to be contaminated with the distemper virus, while still allowing dogs currently in their care to be adopted.

A third case of distemper was confirmed by a Conway veterinarian Monday, according to a man who left the shelter this morning.

Conway limits animal control services

Due to the current situation at the Horry County Humane Society, Conway Police Department will only respond to animal calls that involve a vicious animal and/ or a dog bite. Until the Horry County Humane Society reopens, Conway Police Department will have no where to take stray animals, therefore, they will be unable to pick up any stray animals. These services will resume once the shelter reopens.

-- Conway Police Department release

HCHS Memo

Read the Horry County Humane Society's release on this situation, click here.

Horry County Police temporarily ceases animal call response

Effective Immediately, Officers with the Horry County Police Department’s Environmental Services Section will not be responding to routine animal calls such as trapped or stray animals. They will only be responding to emergency incidents such as bite cases. Due to the unfortunate incident at the Horry County Humane Society, we do not have a place to house any animals at this time. We will inform you when response to routine animal calls will resume.

-- Sgt. Robert Kegler, Horry County Police Department, in a press release issued Tuesday

Complete Coverage

Click here to read our continuing coverage on this story.

The man, who wished to remain unnamed, told News13 outside the facility Tuesday morning that he talked with shelter officials about his vet’s diagnosis of the terrier puppy he adopted last month.

Two confirmed cases of Canine Distemper Virus closed the Humane Society Monday and the closing is indefinite, according to society director Renee Macklen.

“Basically there have been some health issues. Under the recommendation of a couple of veterinarians in the local area that I’ve spoken with, they have suggested we close the facility today and go through and clean,” Macklen said.

Shelter officials euthanized 35 more dogs Monday and allowed more to be adopted with plans to put more down Tuesday, according to a News13 source.

Horry County Public Safety Director Paul Whitten told News13 by phone Tuesday that the county outsourced the shelter to the Horry County Humane Society.

Whitten said he was briefed on the distemper issue Monday by Macklen, but when asked if he planned to meet with the director again Tuesday Whitten said, “This is a Humane Society’s issue and we’re letting them deal with it.”

The first case was diagnosed by a Conway veterinarian on Oct. 27 after a family adopted a dog from the HCHS and took it to the vet the same day, where the doctor diagnosed the animal with “probable K-9 distemper,” according to HCSC records obtained by News13.

The virus is “contagious, often fatal, multisystematic viral disease that affects the respiratory, gastrointestional, and central nervous system,” according to an animal health internet site.

CDV is prevalent in unvaccinated young dogs, according to the Web site.

A second case was confirmed by the Clemson Veterinary Diagnostic Clinic in Columbia on Nov. 26 after doctors there found CDV in the animal that was sent to Columbia from the HCHS.

“When we read this, we thought this was an isolated case,” Macklen said of the Clemson confirmation.

Director Macklen told News13 that she was unaware of the Oct. 27 diagnosis and had she been informed of the incident, she would have ordered the shelter cleaned and addressed the problem.

The records News13 obtained contained the records from the Conway vet attached to the HCHS record of the animal, all of which came from the shelter.

Macklen also told News13 she was unaware of the Nov. 26 case, although Clemson faxed the form containing their findings to the HCHS and the document was attached to the animal’s record obtained by News13 from the shelter.

Since Nov. 20, the Horry County shelter has euthanized 36 dogs, according to records obtained by News13, but that number isn’t alarming to shelter officials, “We don’t have additional kennel space,” Macklen told News13.

A majority of the animals in the documents were adopted out to the public, then returned to the pound and later euthanized, according to a News13 source.

Following a story on the shelter issue Monday night, several people in Horry County emailed and contacted News13 to report adopting animals from the shelter within the past two months who were later returned to the shelter.

You can count on News13 to continue to update this story as details become available on the closing and the situation with the virus at the Horry County shelter.