{"id":2320,"date":"2026-06-19T08:03:14","date_gmt":"2026-06-19T08:03:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=2320"},"modified":"2026-06-19T08:03:14","modified_gmt":"2026-06-19T08:03:14","slug":"pacc-halts-adoptions-limits-intakes-due-to-deadly-disease-outbreak","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/tucsonmovingreport.com\/?p=2320","title":{"rendered":"PACC halts adoptions, limits intakes due to deadly disease outbreak"},"content":{"rendered":"
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TUCSON, Ariz. (13 News) – The Pima Animal Care Center is seeing an outbreak of several canine diseases, including distemper.<\/p>\n

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PACC said eight dogs have tested positive for distemper and one has died. <\/p>\n

The outbreak has caused adoptions to be paused until the animals are confirmed to be disease-free. <\/p>\n

\u201cWe don\u2019t feel comfortable putting dogs out into the community right now until we do our own internal testing,\u201d said PACC Director Steve Kozachik.<\/p>\n

The outbreak has also forced PACC to limit the intake of animals to only those who are a risk to the public. <\/p>\n

PACC said it is managing the spread by quarantining groups of dogs. <\/p>\n

\u201cThis is an extraordinary action we\u2019re having to take, but we believe it is a necessary one to control and resolve the outbreak at the shelter and to ensure that PACC is not a source of disease spread in the community, which would be devastating,\u201d Pima County Administrator Jan Lesher said. <\/p>\n

Distemper has a 50% death rate for adult dogs and 80% for puppies. PACC said that because it is a virus, vaccination and quarantine are the primary methods to prevent the spread. <\/p>\n

Distemper is highly contagious<\/h3>\n

Veterinarian Saman Partow Navid said PACC is making the right move by quarantining dogs, given distemper\u2019s fatality rates.<\/p>\n

He said the best way to prevent infection is through vaccines, but stray dogs are less likely to be vaccinated and more likely to be exposed to the disease.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen wildlife, such as coyotes, do run into our stray pets and spread it, and the disease can go on not necessarily showing a whole lot of symptoms initially and then can be spread amongst the population in a shelter that\u2019s not vaccinated as well,\u201d said Dr. Partow Navid.<\/p>\n

By limiting intake as well, Partow Navid said they can help stop the spread to dog populations outside of the shelter. <\/p>\n

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\u201cPopulations of pets in areas that are not high vaccinated areas, it\u2019s really easy to spread in households, and if your dog goes to a pet park where other animals are not vaccinated, it can easily spread there,\u201d he said.<\/p>\n

PACC urges caution ahead of July 4<\/h3>\n

Kozachik is urging people to hold on to any healthy stray dogs they encounter and make sure their yards are protected ahead of the July 4 holiday, which he said often leads to an intake spike<\/b><\/i> as dogs run away from home because of fireworks.<\/p>\n

He doesn\u2019t know whether PACC will reopen intake by the Fourth, but he said they\u2019re doing everything they can to make it happen.<\/p>\n

\u201cAs soon as we can, we\u2019re going to be opening PACC back up for those parts of the shelter where we have the fully protected dogs that are going to be safe going into people\u2019s homes,\u201d Kozachik said.<\/p>\n

Signs and symptoms<\/h3>\n

PACC said that anyone who has fostered or adopted a dog from their facility in the last three weeks should check their dogs for signs. <\/p>\n

Common symptoms include: <\/p>\n