Council hearing probes parvovirus outbreak, euthanasia and shelter operations at St. Louis County facility

Dr. Douglas Pernicoff, a veterinarian who testified under subpoena, told the St. Louis County Committee of the Whole on June 26 that he worked at the county animal shelter beginning Jan. 21, 2025, and that the facility experienced a parvovirus outbreak in April and May that led to roughly 19 animals being euthanized.

The testimony and subsequent council questioning focused on why the animals could not be isolated or treated, who approved euthanasia decisions, what written protocols existed and whether county leadership and public‑health managers were adequately informed about the outbreak and the shelter’s operational needs.

Pernicoff said the shelter lacked space for legitimate isolation and the staffing and supplies needed for intensive treatment, which shaped the response. “We had no real way to isolate or quarantine that animal or even to treat it,” he told the committee, adding that treatment for parvovirus requires IV fluids, anti‑nausea drugs, antibiotics and close nursing care. He said monoclonal antibody treatment — used in some emergency clinics for vulnerable puppies — would have cost roughly $1,100–$1,200 per large dog and was not feasible within the shelter’s budget.

Pernicoff described a sequence beginning with a symptomatic dog in a large, shared kennel (he identified it as “kennel 500”), an initial positive parvo test, an inability to move the animal to isolation, and the rapid spread of clinical cases across multiple kennels. He said the first infected dog was euthanized because the team could not provide intensive hospital‑level care on site. “I was remiss in not calling her that we were gonna euthanize animals,” he said, acknowledging he did not notify Dr. Sharon Cunningham before some of the actions. “I apologize.”

On process, Pernicoff said he developed a decision‑tree for euthanasia that he circulated to supervisors and to veterinary colleagues but that it was never formally adopted. He told council members that euthanasia decisions during the outbreak were made by a supervisory group that typically included the licensed veterinary technician (LVT) Nikki Bennett, a population manager (identified in testimony as Alyssa Cataba), the shelter’s veterinary staff and on‑site ACO supervisors; he said these meetings functioned as “morning huddles” in which a population manager presented a list of animals to consider. He also said some animals were euthanized after they bit staff so their brains could be submitted for rabies testing.

Committee members pressed Pernicoff on communication. He said he had regular email and occasional in‑person contact with senior public‑health staff but conceded he did not provide the specific, timely notifications about euthanasia he had verbally promised. He also said Dr. Burris, the department assistant, was “in and out” of the shelter and that it was reasonable to assume senior leadership had awareness of the situation, even if Pernicoff did not make direct calls on each euthanasia.

Council members and other witnesses questioned whether the county was prepared to take over shelter operations from the Animal Protective Association (APA) in February. Pernicoff and other speakers told the committee the county assumed the program with fewer kennel‑cleaning staff (testimony cited 15–17 cleaners under APA versus about 5–7 after the transition), delays in receiving the county’s final standard operating procedures (he said the shelter’s SOPs were not available to staff until early May), and procurement hurdles that limited access to needed supplies (IV lines, testing kits, an IDEXX blood analyzer and other equipment were singled out).

Pernicoff told the committee he worked under an agreement for 32 hours per week but averaged “50 to 60 hours a week” and that his employment ended May 9 after the parvo events. He described broad operational constraints — budget, staffing and space — and said those constraints, not a lack of veterinary intent, dictated much of the response.

Public commenters and other witnesses at the meeting urged additional funding, changes to local ordinances and other reforms. Shelter medicine experts who spoke during public comment supported fee‑waived adoptions and urged the council to approve two pieces of pending legislation referenced during testimony: Bill 41 (allowing fee‑waived adoptions, as described by speakers) and Bill 116 (granting the shelter greater flexibility to accept grants, gifts and donated services). Those bills were discussed but not voted on during this hearing.

The committee took official notice of St. Louis County ordinances and resolutions at the start of the hearing and received documents and photos during Pernicoff’s testimony. The council paused testimony at 5:30 p.m. to move to public speakers and later adjourned the meeting.

The hearing produced detailed operational claims and a list of shortfalls that council members said would require follow‑up: (1) review of written standard operating procedures and whether they were distributed in time; (2) clarification of who was responsible for daily communication up the public‑health chain; (3) an audit of procurement and supply‑ordering processes for vaccine, IV and testing supplies; and (4) a review of staffing levels for kennel cleaning and intake work compared with APA operations prior to the county takeover. Council staff indicated additional document requests and possible follow‑up testimony would be scheduled.

The committee also handled routine committee business and adjourned after a motion to adjourn was made and seconded.