UAN lauds shelter personnel for their heroic efforts to save animals not infected with distemper
SACRAMENTO, CA (November 7, 2006) – United Animal Nations (UAN), a national leader in emergency sheltering for animals, today lauded Tampa-based Hillsborough County Animal Services (HCAS) personnel for taking heroic steps to save the adoptable animals in their care after several dogs showed signs of canine distemper, a serious and often fatal virus.
On November 5, 10 volunteers with UAN’s Emergency Animal Rescue Service (EARS) program set up a temporary shelter for HCAS and helped the shelter staff thoroughly clean and sanitize the existing shelter so personnel can resume their normal operations soon. HCAS had suspended dog adoptions in an effort to contain possible contagions while staff tested the sick animals and sought the source of the virus.
UAN president and CEO Nicole Forsyth said that most high-volume shelters experiencing a distemper case would normally opt to euthanize all the dogs in the shelter without determining which ones had actually been infected. HCAS personnel, however, chose to give all the dogs in their care the greatest chance for survival by transferring the apparently uninfected dogs to other organizations and sanitizing the shelter.
“The staff at HCAS is going to great lengths to get adoptable animals to safety outside of the shelter,” Forsyth said. “We were proud to help them return their shelter to safe conditions so they can resume caring for animals there.”
“We are forever indebted to UAN, their Emergency Animal Rescue Service volunteers and all the others who have helped us in this attempt to avert a potential crisis,” said HCAS Director Bill Armstrong. “Their support is allowing us to take all the precautions necessary to make this environment safe for the animals again.”
“These dedicated volunteers showed their true colors performing back-breaking, physical labor on behalf of animals and the community,” added HCAS Community Relations Liaison Marti Ryan. “It was not glamorous, but they’re all stars to us here at HCAS.”
Through its volunteer-driven Emergency Animal Rescue Service (EARS), UAN provides free emergency sheltering and disaster relief services for animals when communities or animal control agencies become overwhelmed by natural disasters or other crises. With more than 2,900 trained EARS volunteers in the
Now celebrating its 20th year, United Animal Nations (UAN) is
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