Commissioners Give SC Humane Shelter Update; Shelter in Lavonia Re-Opens

At Monday’s meeting of the Toccoa City Commission, commissioners gave updates from the various boards and committees they sit upon, and Commissioner Evan Helenga updated the other commissioners, and the audience, on the most recent Humane Shelter Board meeting, including shelter statistics and updates to the shelter’s accounting system and the progress on the audit of the shelter that is currently underway. 

Commissioner Terry Carter, who also sits on the Humane Shelter board, added that the American Woodmark Foundation had awarded a $1,000 grant to the shelter, and the shelter has applied for a grant from the Atlanta Humane Society for a 2020 van. 

Also of note, the Northeast Georgia Animal Shelter in Lavonia re-opened this past Friday, following a mandatory 2-week closure due to an outbreak of parvovirus. 

Under Georgia law, animal shelters must close for two weeks and quarantine existing dogs immediately upon diagnosis of a canine parvovirus outbreak in the shelter population, in order to keep the virus from infecting any new dogs or puppies coming to the shelter.

Canine parvovirus, also known as CPV or parvo, is a highly contagious virus that affects dogs and is most often seen in puppies who are too young to be vaccinated and other unvaccinated dogs.

Shelter Director Tammi Jourdenais said the shelter was already full during the two-week quarantine, and with more dogs expected to be turned in with the reopening, more donations of food and cleaning supplies are needed. 

The shelter is open Tuesdays and Wednesdays, Fridays, and Saturdays from 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. and is located on Bear Creek Road in Lavonia.