Six weeks after Michigan woman arrested for animal cruelty, unrelated dogs are dying
NORTON SHORES — Two more dogs have died from a distemper outbreak believed to be connected to Cober’s Canines.
More:'Someone finally nailed her': West Michigan shelter owner charged with animal cruelty
More:Animal cruelty case against Norton Shores shelter owner moving to circuit court
Alexis Robertson, executive director of Big Lake Humane Society in Muskegon, confirmed to WOOD TV-8 that two dogs showing signs of distemper infection last week have died. Robertson believes they contracted the virus from dogs brought to the facility after being seized from Cober's Canines in January.
“It had to have been them,” Robertson told WOOD last week. “(We've) have never, ever had distemper here before.”
Big Lake, formerly Muskegon Humane Society, was one of four shelters to take in dogs from Lisa Cober’s home in Norton Shores. In all, 78 dogs were confiscated Jan. 30, many with serious health problems.
Jen Self-Aulgur, executive director at Harbor Humane Society, which also took in affected pups, said several dogs were believed to have cases of distemper, pneumonia and kennel cough.
Nine dogs seized from Cober died from distemper in the following weeks — six at Harbor Humane and three at Big Lake.
But the latest two deaths weren't dogs confiscated from Cober. Rather, they were surrendered after Cober dogs were brought in. The dogs weren't vaccinated for distemper and were promptly given their first doses, but it appears the infection took hold before the vaccine could provide protection.
Robertson has called the last week “heartbreaking.”
“It’s difficult to wrap my head around how quickly it takes a healthy animal down to nothing,” she said.
Distemper attacks the respiratory, gastrointestinal and nervous system in dogs and puppies. The most common symptoms are lethargy and a lack of appetite, but distemper is usually diagnosed after nervous issues, including loss of balance and twitches. Vaccines are widely available and American Humane considers it one of the “core vaccines” for dogs.
Big Lake has been closed to visitors and volunteers since the two dogs first started showing symptoms. For now, the shelter will remain closed through the end of March to prevent any possible spread. The shelter is also making some changes to its kennel floors and tweaking its safety protocol.
The Little Traverse Bay Humane Society is helping Big Lake by taking in the shelter’s cats, which can't catch the same strain of distemper, but will give Big Lake room to make their renovations without taking dogs out of the facility.
“We’re doing our best to learn from this and keep moving forward even though we are all heartbroken,” Robertson said.
Police responded to a tip from Pound Buddies Animal Shelter in January that “many animals” were living at Cober's residence in Norton Shores. Prior to police intervention, eight puppies died and two more had been euthanized.
Subscribe:Receive unlimited digital access to your local news coverage
Cober faces one felony charge of cruelty to 25 or more animals, which carries a punishment of up to seven years in prison and a $10,000 fine if convicted. She waived her preliminary hearing, sending her case to trial in Muskegon County Circuit Court. No date has been set yet.
Despite the charges, Cober still has legal ownership of the animals, meaning the shelters can't adopt them out. The cost for those tasked with caring for the animals are mounting. Harbor Humane and Big Lake both say they've spent more than $10,000 caring for dogs seized from Cober.
Habor Humane and Big Lake accept donations at harborhumane.org/donate and biglakehumane.org/donate.
This article originally appeared on The Holland Sentinel: Six weeks after Michigan woman arrested for animal cruelty, unrelated dogs are dying
