Committee hears testimony on parvovirus outbreak and euthanasia of 19 animals after St. Louis County takeover

Dr. Douglas Pernicoff, the county’s then-veterinary director, told the St. Louis County Committee of the Whole on June 26 that a parvovirus outbreak in April–May 2025 led to the euthanasia of 19 animals after the county took over shelter operations from the Animal Protective Association (APA) earlier this year.

Pernicoff testified that he was hired January 21, 2025; that he worked “32 hours a week” under the agreement but averaged “50 to 60 hours a week;” and that he left the shelter after receiving a personnel letter on May 9, 2025. He said the first clinically confirmed case appeared in kennel 500 around April 19 and, because “there was no place for legitimate isolation and quarantine of that animal,” the dog remained in general population and later was euthanized. He told the committee, “We didn't even have a single IV line,” and said the shelter lacked caging, staff and supplies needed to treat a cluster of parvovirus cases at scale.

Why it matters: committee members framed the hearing as part of an ongoing investigation into shelter operations after the county takeover earlier in 2025. Testimony and document requests highlighted gaps the county may need to address — including whether the shelter had sufficient staff, clear standard operating procedures (SOPs), procurement access to vendors, and timely communication up the public-health chain.

Key facts from testimony and the record

- Pernicoff said the outbreak began with a dog he identified as “patient 1” that tested positive for parvovirus in kennel 500 around April 19 and that later cases appeared rapidly over the following days. He said by his estimate that more than 25 animals had been exposed in that kennel.

- He said roughly 19 animals were euthanized in April–May after the outbreak spread; two of those animals were euthanized after biting a staff member so heads could be submitted for rabies testing.

- Pernicoff said he drafted a parvovirus decision tree and an abbreviated parvovirus protocol and circulated them to supervisory staff after the first positive test, but that the protocol was never formally signed by Dr. Cunningham before the mass euthanasias. He said, “I had submitted a parvovirus protocol when the first animal died and spread around everybody.”

- Pernicoff described shortages of staff and supplies that limited treatment options. He told the committee that monoclonal-antibody therapy is sometimes used in individual clinical cases but is “not a reasonable opportunity for us given budget constraints” because treatment for larger dogs would have cost about $1,100–$1,200 per animal.

- He said the shelter did not have adequate quarantine/isolation space or enough personnel to provide intensive inpatient care to many animals at once, and that the shelter’s intake process had gaps (he described at least one positive dog that “had never had an intake vaccine or gone through a proper intake,” which he called “a breach of protocol”).

- Pernicoff said the county’s final SOPs did not arrive for the veterinary team until roughly the first week of May and that he had been working with an APA “playbook” and with draft materials he circulated earlier.

Communications, oversight and procedure issues

Committee members repeatedly asked whether Dr. Cunningham, senior public-health leaders or other managers had been told about the euthanasias as they occurred. Pernicoff testified that he “was remiss in not calling her that we were gonna euthanize animals,” and added, “I'm sure she was aware of what was going on,” saying he believed Dr. Burris had been communicating upward. He said the supervisory “team” — population manager, LVT and veterinary staff — implemented decisions in real time and that many euthanasia decisions were discussed in “morning huddles.”

Pernicoff said veterinary records and entries were stored in the Chameleon management system and should contain intake and treatment logs; he also said the committee had been provided “a document dump” of about 28,000 documents that requires review. Council members asked staff to obtain Chameleon record extracts for specific animals and periods.

Procurement and staffing

Pernicoff criticized procurement delays and limitations on vendors that he said prevented timely purchase of IV supplies, diagnostic equipment (IDEXX), test kits and other routine tools. He said he had repeatedly requested items and that approvals were slow. He told the committee, “We couldn't even get a single IV line. We had ordered multiple times.” He also described a shortage of kennel cleaners: APA averaged 15–17 cage cleaners a day under the previous operator, he said, while the county-run program averaged “5 to 7.”

Quarantine and public communication

Pernicoff said the veterinary team sought to quarantine the facility and to extend quarantines to the medically recommended period (14 days from the last case), but that public-health leadership was sometimes reluctant to close the shelter to public access because of the effects on adoptions and operations. He told the committee he repeatedly asked for quarantine extensions.

Next steps and committee actions

The committee accepted Pernicoff’s sworn testimony under subpoena, asked that materials he brought be scanned and added to the record, and will continue oversight: members said more hearings are likely and requested targeted Chameleon records and specific document sets for the animals involved. Committee members also discussed whether to keep him under subpoena for future testimony; several said he may be recalled.

What the hearing did not resolve

The hearing collected testimony and documents but did not produce formal findings or legal conclusions. Committee members repeatedly asked for additional records and clear timelines; the council did not vote during the hearing and did not make a formal determination about discipline or liability.

Quoted testimony

"We didn't even have a single IV line. We had ordered multiple times," Dr. Douglas Pernicoff, veterinary director (testimony under subpoena).

"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," Dr. Pernicoff (on communications with senior public-health leadership).

Ending

The Committee of the Whole said it will review the documents produced, request targeted Chameleon records for the affected animals, and hold additional hearings. Council members and staff signaled they will evaluate procurement, staffing levels and whether SOPs and communication protocols are adequate to prevent similar outbreaks going forward.