County veterinarian says parvovirus outbreak and gaps in isolation, supplies led to euthanasia of nearly 20 animals

Dr. Douglas Pernicoff, the veterinarian who ran the St. Louis County Animal Care & Control clinic after the county takeover earlier this year, told the county Council Committee of the Whole on June 26 that a parvovirus outbreak in April prompted the euthanasia of about 19 animals after staff lacked space, staff and full treatment capacity.

Pernicoff, who said he began at the shelter on Jan. 21 and worked on average 50–60 hours a week though the agreement was for 32 hours, described the first clinical parvo case as coming from a large kennel ("kennel 500") where the dog was in general population and could not be properly isolated. "We had to leave it there. There was no place for legitimate isolation and quarantine of that animal," he testified.

The veterinarian said the shelter lacked the capacity for intensive treatment — including IV fluids and sustained individual care — and that the monoclonal-antibody therapy used in some clinics would have cost about $1,100–$1,200 per large dog, which the shelter could not afford. Asked about the decision to euthanize, Pernicoff said he had circulated a decision-tree protocol for euthanasia and that supervisory staff and the…