# Question for those who volunteer at shelters...



## jennretz (Jul 24, 2013)

I walk dogs for a local animal shelter. Today I showed up and they had signs everywhere indicating they had a giardia outbreak, but you didn't see the signs until you were inside the property. There was no communication sent out to the volunteers or on the Facebook group for the volunteers. Since I was already there I did walk dogs for an hour, but I was a little put out because I know how awful it is to treat giardia. So I guess I have three questions for those of you involved in rescue:

1) Do you think they should have notified the volunteers?
2) Have I missed any steps to protect my dogs at home (see below)?
- Wiped boots off with special spray at shelter followed by clorox wipes at home before I walked in house
- Wiped seats in car off with clorox wipes plus floor on driver side
- Washed all clothes I was wearing on hot cycle (including gloves and coat)
- Threw out any treats that were in my pocket
3) How long should I give the rescue to get this cleared up before I go back to walk dogs? 


What have I missed? I've had giardia twice in my house and it was so hard to get rid of. I don't want to have to deal with it again.


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## nana2 (Oct 8, 2015)

I'm not involved in rescue, but...
Yes, I think they should have notified you, or had a sign posted OUTSIDE. I think you did a really good job, Jenn. Not sure what I could add, if anything!
I did a quick google search and found some great info on the CDC site. I am SHOCKED that giardia can survive for 7 weeks in the soil in cold climates! I knew it was stubborn, but wow! I'll try to attach a link to the CDC page. Hope you and your buddies will be spared the disease.
https://www.cdc.gov/parasites/giardia/prevention-control-pets.html


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## G-bear (Oct 6, 2015)

I have a couple of concerns which may or may not be valid regarding the manner that this shelter is handling things. I've volunteered at a shelter where there have been cases of giardia. That being said it has occurred with a single dog at a time which in all 3 cases were animals just brought in. I don't know that this would qualify as an "outbreak". I guess I would want to:
1) know how the shelter has defined "outbreak". Was it 1 dog, 2 dogs, other animals at the shelter?
2) what has been done regarding the animals who have tested positive? Are they in isolation? If so since when and how long, if at all, were they exposed to the general population?
3) what precautions have been taken to protect other shelter animals (specifically the sanitation indoors and out as well as how the area in which the affected animals had been housed/kept.
Because the shelter I volunteered at insisted upon a meet and greet between ALL family members (including dogs and cats) prior to application for adoption they were extremely careful to post signs on the OUTSIDE of the building detailing the what the concern was (in this case giardia) and listing the symptoms, manner in which the disease could be contracted and how to prevent it. They also listed the manner in which the infected animal was being treated (medications and isolation) as well as the steps to disinfect the shelter that had been used. At the end of this notice was a statement to the effect that as giardia was contagious in spite of precautions taken the shelter could not guarantee the safety of the animals who would visit. It also listed the (common) steps visitors should take after leaving (even if they had no pets at home). 
I do not remember ever hearing that the pets of any volunteers or staff members had gotten giardia as the result of the shelter.
I absolutely believe that those signs should have been placed on the outside of the building for the safety of staff, volunteers and visitors. I would hope that they would consider that giardia can be transmitted to humans who have a compromised immune system. To not place the signs prior to entering the building seems very foolish to me and I am rather surprised that they only had them inside. 
As for the measures you have taken...I think you have done absolutely all you can do to protect Duke and Charlie. 
As for how long you should wait before going back...I would talk with your vet to get guidelines on that. I really don't know enough to even venture a guess.
I am really sorry this happened to you Jenn. I know how careful you are about your boys and it is really disturbing to hear of a shelter taking what sounds like a pretty lackadaisical attitude to a potentially serious illness.


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## CAROLINA MOM (May 12, 2009)

I think they should have notified the Volunteers. I agree the signs should have been posted on the outside of the building. I would contact your Vet clinic or maybe call an Emergency Vet clinic to see if they recommend you doing anything else you haven't already done. 

I didn't pull a dog for the GR Rescue I helped one year and do a temporary foster of him because of an outbreak of a disease at the shelter. I had my bridge boy at the time who was 15.5, he was a bit fragile then. I talked to my Vet clinic and they advised against it.

There have been other times when I pulled a dog out of this shelter, I did basically what you did. Washed everything I had on, took a hot shower, washed my hair. Wiped the car down completely, then sprayed it with Lysol.


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## jennretz (Jul 24, 2013)

Sandra - it's definitely a mass outbreak. They had signs starting in the lobby and by the kennels on the main adoption floor and pre-adoption area. All the dogs get walked in the same area(s) and there are 3 play areas that are shared by all the dogs. I don't see any way for them to isolate this.

Sandy - I didn't wash my hair and I only did the drivers side seat. I'm going to post on the volunteer site asking what steps they are taking to address it.


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## cubbysan (Mar 13, 2007)

I was told, not sure how true, that giardia can live in the soil for a year, even with a cold winter.


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## Sweet Girl (Jun 10, 2010)

Jenn... my understanding from my vet (having had a puppy with giardia) is that most healthy adult dogs can contract giardia and have no symptoms. They fight it off themselves and you just never even know they had it. Shala tested positive for it on a recheck when she was about 8 months old, but had no symptoms of it (that was after two bouts of it as a baby puppy - the first episode and a flare up). I hope this eases your mind a bit. I think you took all good re. cleaning stuff. Hopefully they won't catch it at all.


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## G-bear (Oct 6, 2015)

I was really surprised when you explained that this was a true outbreak affecting multiple dogs and, from what you said, it doesn't sound as if the ill dogs are isolated or kept from the public or each other. I have never dealt with a shelter which did not have multiple isolation areas to use for things such as females in heat (before they are spayed), puppies not yet vaccinated, dogs with contagious diseases. In MN the state regulates kennels/shelters and the law specifically states: D. Dogs or cats with clinical signs of infectious, contagious, or communicable disease must be separated from other dogs or cats.
So I just don't know what to say here. I assume Illinois has a similar law. I guess I would try to talk to the shelter manager about it. I really think the sign should be outside so people can decide if they want to take the risk of going into the shelter. And I really hope that there is a way for the shelter to isolate ill animals.I understand the funding is often an issue for shelters (the one I volunteered at closed for lack of money) but, since the whole point of a shelter is to provide these animals with a better life I am surprised that this apparently is not being taken terribly seriously by the shelter.


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## puddles everywhere (May 13, 2016)

First off thank you for being a volunteer, seeing all these wonderful dogs without families to love them is really hard to do. 

I used to keep a trash bag in the trunk for the clothes & shoes I would wear at the shelters. Might think about having an extra set to change into before getting into your car. I started doing this back when I worked at the vet to make sure I didn't bring home air born diseases like distemper, kennel cough or parvo, to my own dogs even though they had their shots. 

It sounds like you did a great job of cleaning up. There are lots of places (in Texas anyway) that don't think about spreading infections. Very few offer a "clean" area for the healthy dogs to potty or a "holding" area for new arrivals. They just give them their shots and find them a place and sadly this has caused lots of problems. 

While posting a potential problem is certainly the right thing to do, I'm sure the priority of keeping volunteers around is their main objective.


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## jennretz (Jul 24, 2013)

Sandra - I think I misspoke when I said there isn't an area to quarantine the dogs; there is. It's an isolated area that I'm not allowed to go into. There are not separate play areas though and they move the dogs back and forth between main and pre-adoption depending on how many puppies they have. Main and pre-adoption do have designated walking/peeing areas, but that seems irrelevant when you're both using the same play area and move the dogs back and forth between the two areas.

Puddleseverywhere - keeping a separate set of clothes in the car makes perfect sense. I think your thought about them keeping the volunteers is 100% correct. They responded to my question on the FB group page with information that while factually correct is also misleading. They minimized how easy it easy to keep reinfecting, but did stress they check all new dogs for parasites and treat proactively.

Bottom line, they are assuming any dog in the place could have giardia. They are also IMHO minimizing what a pain in the butt it is to get rid of it and how serious it can be. Much as I hate to do it, I may take a break from walking the dogs there.


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## G-bear (Oct 6, 2015)

I did misunderstand the set-up at the shelder regarding isolation. Sorry! I suspect that deciding not to walk dogs there for a while was a very hard choice for you to make because you are so committed to helping rescues. I also think though that this is the right decision for the time being as Charlie and Duke are your first priority and their health, well-being and safety needs to come first. Sending a hug to the "boys".


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## CAROLINA MOM (May 12, 2009)

Jenn I think you're making a good decision and the right one for you, you have to think of your boys first.


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## jennretz (Jul 24, 2013)

I was looking at the pictures of the pups at the shelter and thinking of ways that I could still walk dogs there (i.e. put separate boots in a bag, etc) and then saw an update from another volunteer. They now have two puppies who've broken with Parvo :-( Even though my guys are vaccinated, I just can't risk it. I'm really sad for those two puppies and any of the other dogs who catch it if they've only recently been vaccinated.


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