MARSHALL — The Marshall Animal Shelter is not able to take in anymore dogs at this time because of a Parvovirus outbreak.
In a post on the Marshall Police Department's Facebook page, locals are warned that Parvo is a highly contagious and deadly disease.
The shelter released a video that was published on the Marshall PD Facebook page explaining the situation.
According to Kelly Colvin, Public Information Officer for the Marshall Police Department and Animal control says this is common in shelters.
"Parvo is a normal thing in shelters. Every shelter across the country struggles with it." she said.
It is commonly found in puppies but can also affect unvaccinated adult dogs. In the Spring, Parvo cases seem to rise with the influx of puppies.
"It's just because we are seeing a lot more cases than normal that we decided to ultimately shut down the shelter for now until we can do a deep cleaning," Colvin said.
Veterinarian Seth Shirey says it's mainly spread when dogs are in close quarters through the spread of bodily fluids like sweat, saliva, and feces.
"We see them in veterinary clinics. We'll see them in shelters, hospitals, you name it. If you've got a lot of young dogs that are going to be grouped together Parvo is a very, unfortunately, common thing," he said.
The shelter is now undergoing a deep cleaning and will not be able to take in any dogs until Monday, May 7, 2018.
The shelter is still open for cat adoptions because Parvo cannot spread to cats. The staff just asks if you are interested in a cat to look online and don't come down to the shelter. That way you cannot be exposed to the chemicals.