Eleven puppies arrived at the Habersham County Animal Shelter. Within hours, they began showing signs of parvovirus. One did not survive.

Parvo is extremely contagious and deadly, especially for puppies. Because the illness was not disclosed at surrender, the virus has now placed every animal in the shelter at risk. The shelter has been forced to pause non-emergency intakes, straining resources and limiting its ability to help other animals in need.

This outbreak highlights two urgent needs: prevention and support.

First, Georgia should require clearer health disclosure standards when animals are surrendered to shelters. While emergencies happen, knowingly withholding serious health information can endanger dozens of other animals and overwhelm already stretched facilities. Shelters deserve transparency so they can take immediate protective measures.

Second, local shelters must be equipped to respond to contagious disease outbreaks. We urge the Habersham County Board of Commissioners to provide emergency funding for quarantine spaces, medical treatment, sanitation supplies, and staffing support. When outbreaks occur, shelters should not have to divert cat intake areas or halt services due to lack of resources.

The Habersham County Animal Shelter is already offering free parvo vaccines to residents. Prevention works. But without accountability and adequate funding, shelters will remain vulnerable to future outbreaks.

Animals in our community depend entirely on us.

We call on Georgia lawmakers to establish mandatory health disclosure requirements for animal surrenders and on county leaders to strengthen funding and biosecurity protections for shelters.

Protect the animals already in care. Prevent the next outbreak. Act now.