Veterinarian describes parvovirus outbreak, 19 euthanasias and procedural gaps at St. Louis County shelter

Dr. Douglas Pernicoff, the shelterveterinary director, told the St. Louis County CouncilCommittee of the Whole on June 26 that a parvovirus outbreak in late April and early May prompted the euthanasia of roughly 19 animals because the shelter lacked isolation space, staffing and treatment capacity.

The testimony came during a committee hearing called to continue an investigation of shelter operations after the county took over animal care from the Animal Protective Association (APA) earlier in 2025. The committee "takes official notice of and enters into evidence all Saint Louis County ordinances and resolutions," the chair said at the start of the meeting.

Why it matters: The account detailed how operational shortfalls at the county-run shelter shaped life-or-death choices and highlighted disagreements among shelter staff and county public-health leadership over communications, approvals and supplies.

Pernicoff said the earliest confirmed sick dog tested positive for parvovirus around April 19 while housed in kennel 500 in the facilitygeneral population. "We had to leave it there. There was no place for legitimate isolation and quarantine of that animal," he told council members. He said staff implemented personal protective equipment and limited decontamination measures immediately but lacked adequate isolation cages and intravenous supplies to treat seriously ill animals.

Pernicoff described a rapid spread after…