By Rick Rouan and Earl Rinehart, The Columbus Dispatch
COLUMBUS – Eight more dogs that were quarantined after being exposed to distemper at the Franklin County Dog Shelter have been euthanized.
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In all, 60 dogs have been euthanized as the shelter tries to contain a respiratory disease outbreak that traces back to Aug. 31. That was the day the first dog — and only diagnosed case of distemper — was euthanized.
Test results confirmed that diagnosis on Sept. 3, and the shelter closed Friday. It reopened Monday to allow dog owners to reclaim lost pets and for people who had adopted dogs who might have been exposed to bring them in for medical checks. But most other dogs have been quarantined and can’t be adopted possibly for weeks to avoid the spread of distemper, an often fatal disease for dogs.
According to a report by WBNS 10-TV, a group of demonstrators gathered outside the downtown high-rise which houses the offices of the Franklin County commissioners to protest the euthanizations.
“We are all heartbroken over what has happened and the hard work and the difficult work that will continue,” Franklin County Commissioner John O’Grady said.
County Administrator Kenneth Wilson said Tuesday that four other dogs were euthanized at the shelter but for other reasons; they were not among those exposed to distemper. Dogs that have been exposed and euthanized either had severe symptoms or could not be humanely quarantined, shelter officials said.
“Working together, we are going to solve this issue,” Commissioner Marilyn Brown said.