i asked this in general pets, but still am not sure about it?

Question

i am starting to volunteer at the local spca next week, but i am worried that i may bring something home to my dog. my husband is freaking out saying i am going to bring some dog or cat disease home. some are saying to change clothes, change shoes, ect. before coming home. am i putting my dog at risk for a disease? she is completely healthy and up to date on all of her shots. thanks.

Answer 1

Just use some common sense & you & your pets will be OK.

I worked with several rescue places & I never brought home anything. I even foster cared many dogs & never had any problems.

You are just as liable to pick up something in the air or just walking down the street. What ever is in there kennels is usually taken care of when they clean the kennels, usually with a chemical to disinfect & kill insects.

And I have not heard of anyone bringing home diseases to their home pets.

You will do good & do not worry. If there is something wrong with a dog when it arrives at a rescue mission they are usually seen by a Vet before allowing the dog to be kenneled beside healthy dogs. & quarentined until the problem is over.

You can have a pair of shoes that you just use when you are working with the dogs & change shoes when you get home.

But think of the many dogs that are in the kennels & how many are healthy regardless of the illnesses of any other dog.

Your worries make sense but they are unnecessary.

You will find this very rewarding & may even bring home another special friend. That is where most of my dogs have come from. My heart wouldn't allow me to leave some special animal in the kennels, I just had to bring it home to join my already existing pack.

Answer 2

If there are sick dogs or cats, most shelters will have a 'sick room' so they can minimize the spread of the disease to the other dogs and cats. You can't take home diseases and spread them to your dog...when I volunteered at a shelter, I was told that by the time you got home, the germs will have died. So, spreading anything to your own pets is very unlikely. If anything, take some of that anti-bacterial gel and stick it in your pocket. After you handle one dog or cat, use it on your hands before handling the next . Now, there is a shelter up here in Dallas, TX, that makes you use that type of gel after handling a dog or cat. For example, you hold and pet a cat, once you're done you use the gel. Then you can handle the next cat. The shelter even provided the gel in each cat room and was easy to find in the kennels for the dogs.

Before you leave to go home, use the bathroom and wash up. Again, by the time you get home, those germs will have died. Greet your dog if you want but go ahead and change your clothes. If your dog is like mine, they will sniff you to death with all the new scents you will have on your clothing. I change my clothes for that reason alone.

Plus, since your dog is up to date on shots, she/he should be ok and protected.

If anything, during your training/orientation, ask this question plus any others. I highly doubt you're the first to ask and you won't be the last.

Good luck and I'm glad you're helping the shelter. That is wonderful!

Answer 3

I work a local shelter and have never had this problem. A few things you can do are:

Make sure your pets vaccinations are up to date at all times.

Wash your hands and change clothes after working at the shelter. If you are really cautious, have one set of shelter clothes and throw them in the washer when you come home. Keep one pair of shoes for working at the shelter and take them off before coming in the house and put them out of reach of your pets.

I vaccinate my pets regularly and wash my hands and change clothes but don't follow the other precautions and have never had a problem with my own animals. I really think the risk is very low, especially if the shelter practices good sanitation and disease prevention practices.

Answer 4

The animals will be quarantined before going out to the areas where most volunteers work with them.

I don't know about the SPCA where you are, but the ones here don't allow volunteers to interact with the sick animals that are kept away from the other animals.

But as long as you wash your hands (or your face, if you let the animals lick you) you should be fine.

If your husband is really freaking out you can step in a shallow bleach bath (~1/2 in depth) ...hopefully your shoes are white.

Answer 5

I worked at a shelter (a very large, very crowded, very dirty urban animal control facility) for 6 months and my dogs never got anything. I washed my hands and arms and changed my shoes before coming home and left my work shoes in my locker there, and if I had to work closely with a dog that had something nasty like mange, I would change my clothes either before I left or as soon as I got home, without letting my dog rub on me.

If you are a volunteer, you are most likely just going to be walking/training/playing with the healthy dogs and not dealing with the muck and the poop and holding nasty gross dogs to be put to sleep. Your dog won't be exposed to anything worse than if you took her for a walk in a place where lots of dogs go for walks.

Answer 6

I used to work at my local spca. As soon as i would get home i would go and take a shower throw the clothes in the laundry and spray lysol all through my house. i have 4 dogs and none of them ever got sick.

Answer 7

99.9% of people who volunteer at shelters and pounds are already pet owners. I wouldnt worry about disease really thats highly unlikely. If you would bring dogs into your home that would be a different story..But like someone else said just wash your hands real good when you leave.

Answer 8

As with everything, wash your hands regularly!!

Other than that, talk to the people at the spca. Tell them what your husbands concerns are. I am sure they hear it all the time and can probably give you informed information that may help you ease your husbands thoughts.

Answer 9

well what i would do is you should be fine as long as right after you get home and say hi to every body take a shower. oh and what i would do is pick a few outfits and only wear those to the place and when you get home change shirt and all and if you do not wish to take a shower then wash your hands really good

Answer 10

Your dogs should be fine since they have had all their shots. Do wash your hands before touching them. Ring worm, as an example, could be brought home.

As for "up to date on shots", please read the Wisconsin University weblink
http://svmweb.vetmed.wisc.edu/article/68/5/39
If you are vaccinating too often (yearly), you could be putting your dog at risk for other things.