Animal Processing 101

Taken from the standard operating procedure at ACS:

303  ANIMAL PROCESSING

All animals placed in the intake area must be assessed by the veterinary and shelter staff before being moved.

All adult dogs will be vaccinated with Distemper-Hepatitis-Parvo-Parainfluenza (DHPP) immediately upon arrival.

All puppies will be vaccinated with Distemper-Parvo-Parainfluenza-Hepatitis (DHPP) vaccine at 6, 9, 12, and 15 weeks of age.

Cats will be assessed to determine if domestic or feral.  Healthy cats will be placed in the Cat Intake Room.  Sick or injured cats will be placed in the Cat Isolation Room.  Feral cats will be placed in the Feral Cat Room.

Upon arrival, all puppies 2 weeks or older will be dewormed with Panacur (fenbendazole) for 3 days.  All adult dogs will be dewormed with Strongid T (pyrantel).

Upon arrival, all kittens 2 weeks or older will be dewormed with Strongid T (pyrantel).

All dogs should receive a Bordetella vaccine as soon as they are old enough based on the vaccine label.

 I picked these 4 girls up yesterday from ACS and as is usually the case there is nothing on their medical paperwork to indicate they were dewormed.  Deworming a puppy as soon as possible can mean the difference between life and death if they are heavily infested.  Unfortunately, ACS chooses not to follow their own procedures.  I have two theories as to why this is not being followed other than the obvious fact that they're just plain lazy.  First, why should they deworm them if they are just going to turn around and kill them in a few days? If they wait they can save a buck.  Second, deworming can cause diarrhea and even vomitting sometimes and no one wants to adopt a dog they think is sick. Plus diarrhea and vomitting can also be signs of other disease which would make more work for staff in trying to determine if a puppy was just having normal wormy poop or if it was sick with parvo or distemper.  They would have to do away with the diarrhea = euthanization practice they have settled into.

The only time a dog or puppy will be dewormed is if it is "worked up" by the vet staff for adoption or rescue.  Since some dogs are pulled by rescues who do their own vetting it is becoming more and more apparent that procedure is not being followed over there. Puppies at ACS already have the deck stacked against them.  They can be immediately euthanized for no reason at all if they are under 4 months; if they actually make it past that hurdle then their tiny bodies and weak immune systems have to survive a general population kennel where disease is rampant.  Can we at least give them a fighting chance by clearing their bellies of the parasites that prevent them from gaining any nourishment?