Please read posts and responses about Apple Valley's reported outbreak of distemper. Of the three posts and emails found below, please consider donating to Alljoy 4 Paws, a Husky Rescue in Southern California who rescued these two dogs from Apple Valley Animal Shelter(AVAS) that have distemper. As you'll see, both AVAS and County Animal Control remain in denial about their reported outbreak. If you have any reports of animals with distemper coming out of AVAS, please report them to Assemblyman Tom Lackey's office who is currently investigating AVAS:
Assemblyman Tom Lackey
(661) 267-7636
Assemblymember.Lackey@assembly.ca.gov
ad34.asmrc.org
LETTER FROM DIRECTOR OF AVAS....
Hello,
Consistent with past rumors on social media, that “many of the animal rescues fear retaliation from the staff at Apple Valley as they have a long history of retaliating against individuals and private charity groups in the state of California” these false and intentional misstatements continue even in your last email.
It is not retaliation when Animal Rescues are held accountable for the animals they pull from our shelter (e.g., not providing proof of spay/neuter for animals pulled from our shelter, not providing follow-up documentation from veterinarians when an animal was reported as being sick (distemper, parvo, etc.,) and pulling unaltered animals from our shelter only to transfer to other rescues that don’t want to be identified by our agency. Some of these rescues have had past enforcement actions or practices investigated by their regulating jurisdiction that do not support positive outcomes for the animals they pull from shelters. In addition, when animals are pulled by one rescue on behalf of another rescue, there are many times when health/behavioral conditions disclosed by AVAS are not fully shared Rescue-to-Rescue.
The majority of our rescue partners recognize the importance of providing documentation that indicates positive test results for reported illnesses and proactive veterinary interventions. Verified documentation allows us to confirm a diagnosed result, research illness origins, isolate potentially exposed animals, identify areas in our community that may have outbreaks and ensure proper veterinary care. The lack of documentation prevents us from verifying a positive diagnosis of any illness and raises the question if the reported sick/deceased animal was provided treatment by a licensed veterinarian.
We have never hid or denied the fact that we have documented an increase in distemper cases. Quite the opposite, we made public announcements similar to many other organizations across the State dealing with the same issues. In 2020, California authorities warned pet owners of an unusually high number of canine distemper virus cases in wildlife populations statewide. We are are rural community home to many of the wildlife species that the rise in cases was documented. In addition to public notices to our pet owners that unvaccinated dogs can become infected when encountering wildlife, we put more money toward testing our sheltered dogs, closed the shelter to quarantine and prevent the spread, offer free and low-cost vaccines for dogs within our community to help protect animals in our Town and alert adopters/rescues about potential exposure. It is not unusual for our rescue partners to pull dogs that have been potentially exposed or are showing signs of some illness. Those are the dogs needing longterm care and isolation that is not always possible in a public shelter.
Unfortunately, there are also times when animals picked up roaming in the community have been exposed. They come into our shelter and leave our shelter but do not show any signs of illness until days after they have left our shelter. We vaccinate every dog coming into our shelter at intake per protocols. However, the vaccination does not prevent an already exposed animal from getting sick and we may never see signs of an illness or get a positive test result for an animal during the incubation period, which can be longer than the time the pet is in our shelter.
Also contrary to the rumors, we routinely clean our kennels with commercial grade disinfectants as directed by our Supervising Veterinarian. Staff feed the animals twice a day unless otherwise directed for medical reasons and do intake health exams on all incoming animals. They also scoop poop, provide water, interact with potential adopters/owners looking for their lost pets, do laundry, wash dishes, and work side-by-side with our adult volunteers & shadows, just to name a few of the things they do throughout the workday.
If you are truly wanting to help the animals in our community and shelter, rather than solicit and hold on to documentation of distemper cases or other violation claims, you would forward to us in a timely manner. This would allow us to respond appropriately to avoid outbreaks and address issues that could impact animal outcomes. If the documentation you possess is social media posts, stories shared in a limited context, or rumors passed through numerous parties, our response will be based on the facts known to us and shared publicly as appropriate.
Please feel free to leave a copy of the documents you have gathered with the Town Clerk at tonight’s Town Council Meeting. I look forward to receiving the information you have in your possession in order to determine if these are new documented cases or matters we have already addressed.
Regards,
Gina M. WhitesideDirector of Animal Services
Town of Apple Valley
gwhiteside@applevalley.org
LETTER FROM CHIEF OF ANIMAL CARE
Good Morning,
It is my understanding the Town experienced an outbreak previously and they have aggressively worked to address this concern. If you would like, please feel free to copy me on your communication to Ms. Whiteside. I do not believe she has received your documentation and she should be given the opportunity to investigate your complaint and respond accordingly.
Thank you.
Brian Cronin
Chief of Animal Care
Department of Public Health – Commitment. Care. Compassion
Phone: 800-472-5609
Fax: 909-387-0125
351 North Mountain View Avenue
3rd Floor, Room 302
San Bernardino, CA 92415-0003
FACEBOOK POST OF TWO DOGS WITH DISTEMPER FROM AVAS
Alljoy 4 Paws, a Husky Rescue in Southern California
August 8 at 9:53 PM ·
BARBIE & KEN
8/8/23 - We have a very sad update. KEN is also very sick. We did a PCR test on both of them & they BOTH sadly tested POSITIVE for DISTEMPER. Dr. Moussa said distemper is way worse than Parvo! The surviving rate is way less than Parvo! They both are declining rapidly!
Joyce has been at the vet with them and has helped give them fluids. They stopped eating and drinking. They both lost lots of weight and have a fever - Barbie, 104.1F, Ken , 103.7F
These poor dogs may not make it.
We sure could use help with their vet bills. We’re trying to help them. Thank you.
$1,530 - is for 3 days hospitalization only. We had to pay $765 deposit today.
We already paid $466 for Barbie when picking her up last Saturday.
Barbie’s other post-
https://www.facebook.com/100069528112492/posts/594760939518171/?mibextid=I6gGtw
8/3/23 - Vet update - Dr. George suspects Barbie has pneumonia. Will take X-Rays and perhaps bloodwork. She’ll be HOSPITALIZED in ISO with IV catheter for the next couple of days. We will update when we know more and post invoice when it’s available.
8/2/23 - Our wonderful volunteer transporter Heather took Barbie to the vet. Poor baby.
Her wonderful foster had contacted us and said - Barbie wasn’t getting up for water and seemed slightly dehydrated. Only drank when water was brought to her. Ate some wet food, but not much. Her nose was becoming clogged from dried light discharge. The most concerning was her breathing seemed slightly rapid & short of breath and we were suspecting possible Pneumonia.
We could sure use help with her care.
We recently rescued Barbie from Apple Valley’s death row. Barbie had her jail break ride with Ken and Felicity. So far Felicity isn’t sick, but we will keep monitoring her. Ken didn’t seem sick at first either.
Videos in comments
Alljoy4Paws is 501C3 nonprofit organization! As always, we appreciate all your support for helping us saving lives!
Please note your donation is for
BARBIE & KEN
Venmo: @Alljoy4PawsRescue
Zelle: Alljoy4Paws@yahoo.com
PayPal: Alljoy4Paws@yahoo.com
Thank you for your support.
https://www.facebook.com/100076021291999/posts/pfbid0cErF3LEKYa4GAvHRHJVpc49mMWwQDtHPkAryco8gCvKG9hMSrStBDqpPyAuPA43ml/