The Shenango Valley Animal Shelter in Mercer County is currently on lockdown due to a parvovirus outbreak.
The shelter is unable to take in any new animals until the virus is contained.
The virus hit after a pair of abandoned puppies were brought into the shelter at the end of May.
Workers noticed one of the puppies, named Pip, stopped eating and drinking after a few days in the shelter.
The virus spread with more dogs contracted it.
The shelter says that all the dogs that have contracted the virus are doing well, but given how unpredictable the virus is, and “no one is out of the woods yet,” the shelter said in a Facebook post.
Anyone that would like to donate to the shelter, can do so here.
According to the American Veterinary Medical Association, “parvo” is a high contagious virus for dogs that “attacks white blood cells and the gastrointestinal tract of dogs and other canids like coyotes, wolves, and foxes. In puppies, the virus also can damage the heart muscle.”
Signs of parvo include fatigue, loss of appetite, vomiting, abdominal issues and diarrhea, along with hypothermia or fever.