It’s a packed house at the Kamloops branch of the SPCA.
Six weeks after two of its animals tested positive for ringworm, the local shelter is preparing to re-open for adoptions on Monday, Dec. 16.
The SPCA will have some dogs and cats available for adoption, as well as a gerbil and a pair of rabbits.
Most of the shelter’s animals are still waiting to be cleared for adoption, though animal-care supervisor Sarah Gerow said more could get the clean bill of health necessary by the time doors open.
To celebrate off the reopening, the shelter at 1211 Eighth St. in North Kamloops will offer half-price adoptions for kittens, cats and rabbits until Jan. 4.
The shelter won’t be accepting new animals at this time, however, because of space restrictions.
Instead, the SPCA will focus on bringing some of the 30 animals it is fostering in the community back to its location as space permits.
The shelter was required to close after two animals, a dog and a cat, tested positive for ringworm in early November.
Ringworm is a contagious fungal infection that can affect pets, livestock and humans. It typically appears as red, raised rings on the skin.
Gerow said the infection, which typically affects very young or elderly animals, can go undetected for some time, which is what happened this year.
“You can carry it and not show any symptoms of it and pass it on to others,” she said. “Or sometimes it takes a while to come down with it. So, they don’t always present right away as having it.”
Gerow said there’s not much the shelter can do to prevent the infection from creeping in.
“We can test using what’s called a Wood’s lamp, which shines ultraviolet light on the animal’s fur,” Gerow said. “But, I think it’s only 60 per cent of ringworm that will show under that light.”
Once it appears in a shelter population, animals can’t be adopted until they test negative for ringworm three times over a six-week period.
In the meantime, the animals have to be bathed, the shelter building must be sterilized and each animal has to undergo a course of oral antibiotics.
With the loss of donations and adoption fees, as well as the extra costs of treating the infection, Gerow said the closure cost the shelter about $10,000.
This is the second year in a row a ringworm outbreak has hit the Kamloops SPCA in the fall.
In 2012, the facility closed from September to mid-October after six cats tested positive for the infection, prompting rounds of treatment and sanitization of the facility.
It was one of nine facilities in B.C. closed due to the outbreak.
