Animal Humane Society reopens doors after canine flu outbreak

MINNEAPOLIS -- The dog flu forced them to close for weeks -- but on Tuesday, the Animal Humane Society reopened the doors of two adoption centers.

The AHS closed their doors for a month due to an outbreak of canine flu.

"This is a virus that is usually shed in high amounts in that first week after getting sick but some dogs have shown to shed the virus for 20-plus days afterwards," said Director of Veterinary Medicine Dr. Graham Brayshaw.  "So to be safe, we waited 'til day 30-plus beyond the last dog getting sick."

While canine flu remains a concern for the community, the animals inside the shelters in Golden Valley and in Coon Rapids have been given a clean bill of a health.  

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"The nice thing with this virus is there's not long terms impacts from it. Once they get through it, they're nice and healthy and they're raring to go, ready to get out of here," said Brayshaw.

For some lucky cats, dogs and humans, Tuesday  was their lucky day. 

"I've been kinda waiting to see if they reopen. I know there's always dogs looking for homes but I really like to support this location especially and so yeah, I've been holding out, hoping that they'd get dogs back soon and I was really excited when they came back on today," said Jodi Mahowald.

Experts recommend keeping your pet away from other dogs until the flu stops spreading -- meaning owners might want to stay away from dog parks. Owners should also give the vet a call if they notice a dog with symptoms like a cough, fever, and less appetite, experts say.