Advocate photo of foster pup
If you have the proper bandwidth, space and disposition to foster an at-risk dog, you can perform the service plus receive a $150 to spend on Amazon.
Like many shelters and boarding facilities across the region, Dallas Animal Services has experienced an increase of canine upper respiratory infections, according to a news release from DAS. That includes the canine influenza virus.
To maximize lifesaving and minimize the spread of URI in the building, DAS and Friends of DAS are extending an offer to provide anyone who fosters an exposed large dog an $150 gift card, in addition to the supplies and medical care needed for their foster pet. So far, the effort has paid off, but shelter workers say they still need more help.
“We are so grateful that despite the busy holiday season, residents showed up in large numbers to foster or adopt dogs,” DAS director MeLissa Webber says. “While we have certainly been celebrating this community response, traffic is now slowing down and the hard work isn’t over yet.”
In November, DAS began working with the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Veterinary Medicine experts to build an ambitious plan to create a ‘clean break’ in its building and stop the spread of illness.
“DAS is now halfway through the clean break process and 53% of our dog rooms are housing unexposed animals,” Webber says.
There remain 188 exposed dogs in need of adoption, fostering or rescue placement, according to DAS. Representatives add that just because a dog has been exposed to flu or URI does not mean they are sick, necessarily.
Many have fully recovered from URI or have never shown symptoms but were housed near a sick dog, they explain.
DAS is encouraging fosters and adopters to practice doggy distancing for all dogs adopted from DAS, regardless of exposure status.
URI is rarely life-threatening in dogs, it spreads quickly and is challenging to contain in a shelter or boarding kennel environment. URI in dogs is much like the human flu virus: most experience mild to moderate symptoms such as coughing, sneezing, lethargy, and congestion that resolve with rest and hydration within 1-2 weeks. In rare cases, dogs can develop secondary infections such as pneumonia that require additional treatment.
Incentives will be offered in the form of $150 Amazon gift cards for foster families and $150 online donations for 501(c)3 rescue partners. Please visit Dallas Animal Services at 1818 North Westmoreland Road or contact them via the forms on the website.
