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REIDSVILLE — Just a week ago, Caroline Sanders was wishing for more space inside the cramped quarters of the Rockingham County Animal Shelter.

This week, she has more than enough space. A parvovirus outbreak wiped out the majority of dogs that were housed there. "We had a real, real bad outbreak of parvo and had to put 61 dogs down," said Sanders, the shelter director, late Tuesday. "It's pretty sad right now."

The canine parvovirus, commonly referred to as parvo, is spread through physical contact. Sanders, who is also a veterinary technician, said infected dogs have about a 50-50 chance of survival.

Sanders said a veterinarian recommended that she euthanize all the animals, shut down the shelter for two days and conduct a mass cleaning.

Sanders suspects the outbreak stemmed from a litter an owner surrendered at the shelter. She learned Sunday that a dog that had been fostered had the contagious disease. When Sanders returned to work Monday, two dogs were symptomatic and later tested positive for the disease.

Once an animal is exposed to parvo, it takes 7 to 14 days for the animal to show symptoms, which include vomiting, bloody diarrhea and lethargy, Sanders said.

Sanders said it's also possible that dogs found at a Stone­ville home on Jan. 28 had the disease. The apparent owner had died, and the animals were being evaluated for adoption. Four of them had died by Saturday, and the remaining ones were euthanized.

"If people would vaccinate their dogs, we wouldn't have these kinds of situations happening," Sanders said.

The crisis also highlights the urgent need for a new shelter, she said. County officials are planning for a shelter in Wentworth, but they currently rent space from the Reidsville Veterinary Hospital. The cages have no barriers to prevent transfer of urine and feces.

Also, Sanders said, up-to-date facilities vaccinate dogs as soon as they arrive at the shelter. "We don't have the funding to do it," she said.

Pat Sanford, a board member of the Animal Protection Society of Rockingham County, said vaccinating animals as they come to the shelter is crucial to managing disease.

"This is critically important, and it's not that expensive," said Sanford, who was executive director of the Orange County Animal Shelter for 17 years.

A week ago, Sanders made an appeal to the community to relieve the crowded shelter, which was followed by a spurt of adoptions at the shelter. There were nine adoptions over the weekend, Sanders said.

One woman adopted two puppies, one of which became infected. The woman returned both puppies, and they were euthanized, Sanders said.

The shelter shut down early Monday and will reopen today.

Contact Jonnelle Davis at 627-4881, Ext. 126,or jonnelle.davis@news-record.com