Despite the recent parvovirus-related death of two puppies at the Nevada County Animal Shelter, people thinking about adopting from the shelter should feel confident about doing so, local animal advocates said Wednesday.

The shelter and animal groups have taken precautions during the outbreaks to assure safe adoptions at the McCourtney Road shelter, Cheryl Wicks of Sammie's Friends and Kathleen O'Sullivan of Pound Puppy Rescue said.

“It's really a puppy disease,” Wicks said. “I've talked to a lot of vets around here, and the oldest case they have ever seen is nine months old.”

Parvo, as it is commonly known, most often occurs in puppies; their immune systems have not fully formed. It also can occur in dogs who have not been vaccinated, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association.

It is not typically seen in dogs whose immune systems have matured, O'Sullivan added.

Parvo infiltrated the facility with a six-puppy litter in July, shelter manager Rich Fevinger said earlier this week. Initially, the puppies appeared healthy, but soon after, the litter became sick, and two died.

It happened again in late October when a pair of puppies were dumped at the front door of the shelter and then brought inside by employees who did not see any signs of the disease. Those signs are vomiting and diarrhea, which progresses to bloody discharge, lethargy and lack of appetite.

Since both outbreaks, shelter workers have been bleaching diligently to kill the virus, and they cordoned off a play area outside the shelter where the infected dogs gathered, Fevinger said.

No other dogs inside the shelter have contracted the virus.

Although the treatments for parvo can range from about $500 to thousands of dollars, the Sammie's Friends nonprofit pays the bulk of it after the county pays the first $100, Wicks said.

“We've done bleaching, and we bought all the equipment to do it,” Wicks said.

She also helped broker a verbal agreement that puppy litters will first be deferred to O'Sullivan's group to see whether she can find homes before they are turned over to the shelter.

“Shelters are not good places for puppies,” O'Sullivan said, because of what other dogs might bring in to attack their undeveloped immunity systems. That's despite clean conditions there, she added.

“The Nevada County shelter is one of the cleanest I've ever seen, and they manage their dogs well,” O'Sullivan said.

“The likelihood of an unvaccinated puppy getting parvo (at the shelter) is less than it is going to be at a park in Grass Valley or Nevada City,” where parvovirus abounds, O'Sullivan said.

Pound Puppy Rescue began in 2001, when O'Sullivan was a volunteer at the shelter and was determined to deal with the puppy population.

If you have unwanted puppies, call O'Sullivan at (530) 274-8079, and she will try to get them a home. Her group spays and neuters the puppies, deworms them and gets them their first round of vaccines.

Sammie's Friends also began in 2001, when Wicks was a volunteer at the shelter and wanted to reduce its 68 percent euthanasia rate. Through donations to treat the animals, Sammie's Friends has helped cut that rate to 3 percent, Wicks said.

Anyone looking to adopt a dog or a cat should contact the shelter from 1 to 4 p.m. Monday through Saturday at 14647 McCourtney Road.

To contact Senior Staff Writer Dave Moller, e-mail dmoller@theunion.com or call 477-4237.