Latest news with #PAWS
CTV News
4 days ago
- Health
- CTV News
‘Potential for this to spread is huge': Parvovirus outbreak alarms pet owners in London housing complex
Exterior 349 Wharncliffe Road North community housing building where there have been confirmed cases of parvovirus. (Reta Ismail/CTV News London) Pet owners in two community housing buildings on Wharncliffe Road North are on edge after at least two dogs contracted parvovirus and were euthanized. 'I'm a little bit more worried,' said Carol Roots, a dog owner who lives in one of the buildings. 'But my plan is to get Dane vaccinated very soon.' Dane is among roughly 100 dogs living in the two buildings managed by London & Middlesex Community Housing. Progressive Animal Welfare Services (PAWS), a local animal welfare charity, is calling for immediate action to prevent further spread of the highly contagious virus. 'It's so concerning. There is a large number of dogs in the building. Most of them are unvaccinated,' said Emily Birkner, fundraising initiatives manager at PAWS. 'The potential for this to spread is huge.' Parvovirus is a highly infectious disease that spreads easily from dog to dog, with symptoms including vomiting and diarrhea. If left untreated, it can be fatal. In January, an outbreak in Windsor killed 25 dogs. 'Ultimately, we're looking at about $250 to get your dog vaccinated,' Birkner said. 'As this is a low-income housing area, that makes it inaccessible to the majority of the residents.' 062425 Exterior of 345 and 349 Wharncliffe Road North community housing buildings where there have been confirmed cases of parvovirus. (Reta Ismail/CTV News London) Linda Armstrong, board chair of PAWS, said the key issue is accessibility. 'The issue is that we really need someone to come on site to do the vaccinations,' she said. 'Transporting all these people and their possibly infected pets in a vehicle to another vet to potentially infect that clinic, it's not a great plan.' In the meantime, London & Middlesex Community Housing has posted notices in common areas and on every floor of the two buildings, urging tenants to take precautions. 'Treatment outside on the pavement, in the hallways... if we read the material, they want us to bleach the site,' said Paul Chisholm, CEO of the housing authority. 'We know that's not practical, so we're trying to figure out how do we respond to this.' Armstrong said she is now working with local veterinarians to coordinate on-site vaccinations as time remains critical.
Chicago Tribune
5 days ago
- General
- Chicago Tribune
Gorton Center in Lake Forest hosted PAWS Chicago adoption event on Saturday
Saturday's local pet adoption event invited participants to come for the cuddles, save a life, or find a new best friend, all free of charge. PAWS Chicago Adoption Event at Gorton Center, 400 East Illinois Road in Lake Forest, took place on Saturday, June 21, from noon to 3 p.m. Ann Wildman, director of special events at Gorton Community Center, says collaborating with PAWS on an animal adoption event aligns with Gorton's mission by fostering community connection, compassion, and service through meaningful local engagement. 'At the very least, families who spend time at our event can make a number of meaningful connections, even if they don't decide to adopt today,' Wildman said. For those dreaming of adding to their family, PAWS Chicago provided four puppies and four kittens available for adoption on Saturday. Participants were invited to a meet and greet the animals, to learn about their unique personalities and their day-to-day needs, through interaction with supportive volunteers available to answer questions about the adoption process. Laura Bergman, PAWS location manager, said that since PAWS is located in the city, it is especially important to do these pop-up adoption events in order to reach a wider audience. 'Lake Forest is a wonderful community and one that supports pet adoptions, so the Gorton Center is an important venue for us,' Bergman said. Brittany, Michael, and Sharon Moccia of Lake Forest attended Saturday. 'After recently losing our dog, we are beginning to consider the rescue process again, and we love PAWS,' Brittany Moccia said. According to the PAWS Chicago website, PAWS is one of the largest comprehensive no-kill animal welfare organizations in the nation, leading the charge to end pet homelessness and suffering in the Chicago area. Wildman says that many animal shelters are full right now, so adoptions are desperately needed. 'Ultimately, if some animals find a new forever home during this event, that is, of course, the ultimate goal,' Wildman said.
CTV News
7 days ago
- CTV News
Waterloo Regional Police respond to at least six calls for pets left in vehicles within a week
A dog is pictured in a vehicle on a hot day with the window down. The Waterloo Regional Police Service is putting out a warning that could save an animal's life. In a social media post, police said they have responded to at least six calls about pets left in vehicles in the past week. As temperatures rise, it can take only moments for a vehicle to heat up and become unbearable, and even deadly, to the animals trapped inside. Cracking open a window does not provide enough relief to keep pets safe. According to the provincial government, even waiting in a vehicle for a few moments can be too long. 'The most dramatic rise in temperature occurs within the first 10 minutes that a vehicle is idle,' a provincial news release said. 'Even at an outdoor temperature of only 25°C, the inside temperature of a car can reach 34°C in as little as 10 minutes and up to 50°C by the time an hour has passed. Under the province's Provincial Animal Welfare Services (PAWS) Act, police officers and animal welfare inspectors can enter a vehicle to help an animal in distress. Anyone who sees an animal trapped in a hot vehicle is urged to contact 911. People who leave pets in a vehicle can be charged with causing unnecessary suffering to an animal or injuring or endangering an animal. Both charges carry a maximum sentence of five years in jail. Owners could also be charged with neglecting an animal, which comes with a maximum sentence of two years in jail.
Miami Herald
10-06-2025
- Health
- Miami Herald
Puppy abandoned after being diagnosed with deadly disease – but she's a fighter
When humans hear the word 'parvo,' which is an infection known as canine parvovirus, come out of the mouths of their veterinarians, it can cause panic. The virus, which is extremely contagious, attacks 'white blood cells and the gastrointestinal tract of dogs' and in puppies 'can damage the heart muscle,' the American Veterinary Medical Association says. So when a puppy named Lily was diagnosed in a Chicago emergency vet, hope waned. 'A parvovirus diagnosis is the last thing you want to hear as a pet owner. It's deadly, highly contagious, and very expensive to treat, for a pet owner or a shelter,' the PAWSChicago shelter said in a June 5 Instagram post. 'After Lily was admitted to an emergency vet clinic, her owner wouldn't come back for her. Things are hard right now. Pet surrenders are up 312% at CACC, many of them because people are struggling to afford the cost of basic pet care, let alone major medical costs.' Thankfully, the shelter was able to take the sweet girl in. In the video posted to social media, Lily is a spunky girl with large eyes and a boopable nose. 'But Lily can't live at the emergency clinic, and she needed someplace to go. Earlier this week, she came to PAWS to continue her treatment. While she hasn't beat parvo yet, she's doing really well so far!' the shelter said. To keep up with Lily's story, follow the shelter's Instagram.
Chicago Tribune
01-06-2025
- General
- Chicago Tribune
PAWS Chicago puts pet rescue ‘mission front and center' at Gold Coast adoption event
Paula Fasseas always loved animals but never thought she would dedicate her life to saving cats and dogs. 'I always thought I'd like to be a vet, but I really didn't like blood so much. And it was funny, because back then, as a kid, growing up, you liked animals, the vet was the only path,' Fasseas said. But that all changed when her daughter was volunteering at a local animal shelter about 28 years ago. She said her daughter would tell her about the high number of animals being euthanized at shelters. Fasseas knew she wanted to save these animals — and that started with getting the word out. 'I thought, 'If people knew, they'd come and adopt these animals. How can I get them down here?'' Fasseas said. She started to think about streets like Michigan Avenue and Oak Street, which were lively and attracted people with their designer stores. Fasseas decided to host her first adoption event along some of those streets and the next day, she was inundated with calls from people asking how they could help. Now, 28 years later, Fasseas is still hosting the adoption event along some of the most fashionable streets in the Gold Coast neighborhood. She has also since started PAWS Chicago, one of the largest comprehensive no-kill animal welfare organizations in the country. Forty retailers along Oak Street, Rush Street, Delaware Place and Michigan Avenue lent their storefronts and windows Sunday to PAWS for the annual Angels With Tails event. Inside and outside, people perusing the luxury shopping streets could find everything from playful kittens to former greyhound racing dogs. 'The idea is to bring homeless pets into the community, into areas where people are just walking around, where they'll encounter them and hopefully fall in love and adopt. It's a way to bring the mission front and center,' said Susanna Wickham, CEO of PAWS Chicago. This year's event also comes as Chicago Animal Care and Control is receiving more animals than it can take care of. In a Facebook post, the agency said that in the first 20 days of May, it has received an average of 56 animals a day. That number is a slight jump from April, when the agency saw about 54 animals a day. 'During COVID, they had very few animals given up at Animal Control, and a lot of people in demand for animals, wanting animals,' Fasseas said. But in the aftermath of the pandemic, more people are giving up their animals. That trend is consistent with a nationwide crisis in animal shelters. Since the pandemic, many shelters are seeing a surge in the number of animals they are receiving. In 2023, 6.5 million animals entered shelters across the nation, a slight increase from 2021, according to Shelter Animals Count's national database. That number slightly decreased in 2024, with 5.8 million animals entering shelters. Despite the decrease, many shelters still say that they are at capacity and struggling to meet the needs of their communities. 'The thing that is the most alarming is just the amount of abandoned and stray pets, and also the amount of pets that are relinquished by their owners,' Wickham said. 'These numbers have been surging for the last couple of years, but they continue to be on an upward trajectory, and it's just largely tied to the economy.' More specifically, Fasseas explained that a combination of skyrocketing veterinary costs, people moving to new areas and general life transitions following the pandemic contributed to the surge in animals. 'There are a lot of people that can barely feed their families,' Fasseas said, let alone provide their pet with medical care. At the Sunday adoption event, dogs patiently sat outside stores like Dolce & Gabbana and Lafayette 148 as people stopped to play with them. Many people were looking for their next feline friend. 'Before I would just walk, play with the puppies — but this year was my time to shine,' Kristen Crabtree, a Gold Coast resident, said. She had spent hours online looking at the cats that were going to be at the event and found herself thinking about two kittens — Hobbes and Fuzz. Luckily, she arrived early and now says she has two new 'best friends to play with.' Yuri Torres, a Jefferson Park resident, had been looking for an orange cat. 'I love orange-flavored things, like oranges or mangoes, and so I always just associate tangerines and oranges with happiness,' Torres said. When she saw an orange and white kitten inside the Marc Jacobs store named Cherub, she instantly fell in love. 'I feel a connection to him,' Torres said. By the end of the day, she'd added a new member to her family.
