PAULDING COUNTY, Ga. — The State Agriculture Department imposed a quarantine at the Paulding County animal shelter after dogs contracted a rare form of strep.
It's the first time the disease, usually seen in horses, has been reported in dogs in Georgia, researchers said.
"It didn't appear to be anything we've ever seen before. The dog seemed healthy one day and literally dead the next," said shelter director Tracy Thompson.
Rare Disease Kills Many Dogs At Shelter
The animal shelter has been shut down temporarily.
The remaining dogs are on penicillin and Thompson said everything is being washed with bleach.
The quarantine will be lifted and they'll open back up after they've gone seven days without any of the dogs being sick.
The last day a dog was sick was Jan. 24. Thompson said they hope to reopen Monday.
Testing at UGA determined the dogs were getting strep zoo. No one is sure yet how the dogs got the disease.
One couple was surprised when they came to drop off their cats at the shelter.
"I don't know. I pay my taxes like everyone else does, and I was expecting them to be open now," James Guillebeau said.
Thompson said Douglas County is helping people in Paulding County find shelters. They can contact the Douglas County shelter to see if they have room to take strays found in Paulding.
WSBTV
