Seattle Humane rises to the challenge of 60 dogs and puppies, possibly exposed to parovirus

This adorable girl is Sriracha, who’s currently in foster
with her sibling Buffalo. Her littermates Ranch, Ketchup,
BBQ and Honey Mustard will be moving into foster homes soon.
Photo courtesy Seattle Humane

Seattle Humane routinely takes in animals from disasters all over the United States. The affected areas empty out their shelters to make room for displaced pets and send them to the Humane Society in Bellevue where they find homes all over the Greater Seattle area.

This story is about a special challenge the Humane Society faced.


It’s been all hands (and paws) on deck at Seattle Humane these past few days with our latest Lifesaver Rescue transfer from out of state. The truck was just hours away when the driver discovered one of the puppies on board was very sick. A stop at a nearby veterinary clinic confirmed everybody’s worst fears. The puppy tested positive for parvovirus and, due to its very poor condition, was humanely euthanized. Back at the shelter, the news spread fast.

A truck carrying over 60 dogs was headed our way — more than half of them puppies who may have been exposed to a highly infectious and deadly disease.

“We couldn't send all of these dogs and puppies back. The dedicated rescues, fosters and shelter workers who put this transport together would have been left with an impossible task,” said Seattle Humane Intake Director Jessica Charlton.

So we formed a plan and broke out the PPE. Local rescue Saving Great Animals could take in three of the puppies. We ended up taking in 7 adult dogs and 37 puppies, ranging in age from two weeks to six months of age. Watch this video of their arrival. Three full dorms at the shelter were set up as isolation wards for the dogs, a critical step in preventing the spread of parvovirus to the rest of the shelter population.

Several puppies ended up testing positive and are currently receiving the fluids, medications and careful monitoring needed to survive this deadly illness.

Late yesterday, we put out an urgent call for foster parents for the exposed puppies that need to be quarantined for the next two weeks. More than 200 members of the Rescue Squad have contacted us in the last 24 hours!

"This could have been a major catastrophe for many of the pets on board that truck. But all of our teams hustled and the response from the public to step up and foster these pups just blew me away," said Chief of Animal Care Juli Ross.

While these pups are covered for foster homes, we’ll see many more sick – and healthy – puppies and kittens in the coming months. You can help by signing up to be a foster parent! We've put everything you need to know here. Can't foster, but still want to help? Check out our Amazon wish list for foster pets.

Thank you, Rescue Squad!

(You can donate here) Contact them here.