Santa Rosa County Animal Services temporarily halting dog adoption operations — here’s why

SANTA ROSA COUNTY, Fla. ( WKRG ) — Santa Rosa County Animal Services will temporarily close all dog adoption operations at the shelter until next week.

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The dog adoption operations will reopen next Monday, Sept. 30, due to an autoimmune illness called Mycoplasma cynos.

What is Mycoplasma cynos?

According to a study published by the American Kennel Club Canine Health Foundation , Mycoplasma cynos is an emerging respiratory bacterium in dogs.

"It is associated with kennel cough and may lead to fatal pneumonia," the study's abstract said. "This bacterium is very complex, and the lack of standardized diagnostics and knowledge on antibiotic therapy makes clinical management difficult. Since no vaccine is available, current treatment of M. cynos-associated outbreaks relies on antibiotics."

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Shelter and medical staff are treating affected dogs and hope to resume normal adoption operations next week.

"The greatest concern at this point is preventing the escalation to pneumonia in the already affected dogs," Animal Services Chief Randy Lambert said. "Our team has been diligent in identifying the issue quickly. Luckily we've been able to isolate our cats and kittens from the illness, and are monitoring everyone closely."

The shelter is continuing scheduled offsite adoption events this week and will only bring dogs currently in foster care that haven't been exposed to the illness.