LONG BEACH : Some Shelter Animals Left Unvaccinated
Michael Makaron learned the hard way that the Long Beach Animal Shelter does not vaccinate all dogs and cats for the distemper virus.
Makaron said he adopted Betsy, a black and brown mixed shepherd puppy in March, then spent $650 in veterinarian bills in a losing battle against distemper. Five weeks later, the puppy was put to death.
“They should’ve never given her up for adoption,” he said.
Shelter manager Roger Hatakeyama said the city can’t afford to vaccinate all of the 14,000 animals that come through the shelter each year. “Some we do, some we don’t,” he said. “It all depends on staff availability or whether we feel the animal is adoptable. If we gave the shots to every animal, we’d be broke.”
The shelter encourages everyone who adopts pets to get them checked by local veterinarians, a service that is free within five days of adoption, Hatakeyama said.
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