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 that first case: "We suddenly had animals moving out of, positive animals, sick animals coming out in other kennels, not just [kennel] 500," he said. He estimated the shelter population at about 240 animals at the time. Over several days the veterinary and supervisory teams reviewed lists of animals for possible euthanasia; Pernicoff said the group ultimately euthanized about 15 animals over two to three days, plus earlier cases, for a total he described as approximately 19.

On decision-making and protocols, Pernicoff said he drafted a euthanasia decision tree and shared an "abbreviated parvovirus protocol" with supervisory staff when the first positive case occurred. He told the committee that the decision tree "never was responded to by anybody" and that a final set of county Standard Operating Procedures did not arrive to the shelter staff until the first week of May. "She [Dr. Cunningham] never signed off on that," he said when asked if department leadership had approved his parvovirus protocol.

Asked whether he personally called Dr. Sharon Cunningham before euthanasias began, Pernicoff said, "No. I was remiss in not calling her that we were gonna euthanize animals, but I'm sure she was aware of what was going on." The committee heard conflicting descriptions of whether senior public-health managers were kept apprised in real time.

On treatment options and costs, Pernicoff said shelter-level care would have required intensive one-on-one treatment and supplies the facility lacked. He estimated that monoclonal antibody therapy would have cost about $1,100 to $1,200 per large dog and that available frozen product would have been sufficient for only one animal. He also said the shelter requested "titer" test kits and IV supplies but did not receive them before he left the job on May 9.

Pernicoff described procurement and staffing shortfalls repeatedly: he said the shelter lacked IV lines, adequate vaccine/cleaning supplies and had fewer kennel cleaners than the APA used to employ. "We couldn't even get a single IV line," he said. On staffing, he said APA averaged 15 to 17 cage cleaners per day, while the county program had 5 to 7 on comparable shifts.

He defended the immediate outbreak response as aiming to protect the broader population. "We revaccinated. We kept checking. We isolated. The only ones we could isolate, there were a group of six young dogs...we watched them closely," he said, and added that he believed the team curtailed further spread.

On recordkeeping and evidence, Pernicoff said individual treatment and intake entries were stored in the Chameleon shelter-management system and that the former LVT (licensed veterinary technician) Nikki Bennett had worked to compile and improve templates and records. Committee members were told thousands of documents were produced to the council in response to subpoenas; a council member referenced a set of about 28,000 documents provided by the department.

In his closing testimony Pernicoff cited funding, staffing and facility space as root problems: "Funding which means staffing and supplies, but it also the other problem was space," he said. He said he had proposed renovations that would add isolation and quarantine capacity and had provided lists of needed equipment.

What the committee did: The hearing included public questions, a request that Pernicoff's documents be submitted to the clerk for scanning and that his originals be returned, and a pledge that witnesses under subpoena would be called back as needed. No formal policy decision was adopted at the session; council members directed staff to collect documents and continue the inquiry.

What remains unresolved: Council members flagged gaps in communication, the timing of written SOPs, the adequacy of procurement channels, and whether supervisory reporting lines ensured timely notification to department leadership. The committee said it would continue the investigation and seek additional records and witness testimony.

Ending: Pernicoff's testimony closed after roughly two hours of questioning; council members said they will review thousands of responsive documents and that the committee's inquiry would continue. "We will be calling people back at some point for some additional information," Chairwoman Days said at the session's close.