After seeing a spike in parvo cases in the Valley, the Arizona Humane Society is encouraging residents to get their pets vaccinated against it and other viruses (photo courtesy of AHS).
The Arizona Humane Society (AHS) is raising the alarm and asking the community to help protect Valley pets from deadly, highly contagious diseases by ensuring they are properly vaccinated. This call to action comes as the state’s leading animal welfare organization is seeing a troubling rise in preventable illnesses, an increase that may be driven in part by growing vaccine hesitancy.
“As one of the few shelters in the nation equipped to treat pets suffering from parvo, the Arizona Humane Society sees firsthand the devastating impact of this entirely preventable disease every day,” said Dr. Steven Hansen, president and CEO of AHS. “In just two months, our specialized ICU has treated more than 200 cases of parvo, more than one-third of the total cases we cared for in all of last year. Vaccinating your pets is imperative not just for their safety but for the safety of our whole pet community.”
Vaccinations are not only the first line of defense in contagious breed-specific viruses such as distemper in dogs and feline leukemia virus in cats, AHS said, they are also vital in the prevention of zoonotic diseases that pose threats to both animals and people such as rabies – which is incurable once symptoms set in. While there are many potential reasons for an increase of contagious diseases seen in pets, a recent New York Times article highlighted a rise in pet owners being hesitant to vaccinate their pets due to the upsurge of vaccine hesitancy for humans as one possibility.
A 2023 survey published in the Vaccine journal also noted that more than 50 percent of the pet owners who participated were uncertain of the importance, safety and efficacy of vaccinations for their own pets.
While AHS has seen a significant jump in parvo cases this year, shelter statistics also show a steady incline of pets treated in its Susan & Mark Mulzet Parvo ICU since 2023, with 567 cases reported last year, up from 325 in 2023.
To help keep pets healthy, the shelter provides affordable vaccines for owned pets at the Sunnyslope Veterinary Clinic, 9226 N. 13th Ave., and the South Mountain Veterinary Clinic, 1521 W. Dobbins Rd., as well as through the Healthy Tails Mobile Veterinary Clinic, which operates throughout the Valley.
To learn more about the importance of vaccines or to book an appointment, visit www.azhumane.org/vaccines.
