Ten dogs seized from Garner home euthanized

Michael Williams, director of the Wake County Animal Control and Adoption Center said that 10 of the animals were euthanized because they tested positive for parvovirus, a contagious virus among canines that wipes out the intestinal tract.

About half of all cases are fatal. Williams said that although parvo is treatable, it is so contagious that it is impossible to treat a dog in a shelter environment without spreading the disease.

"The goal is to try to find homes for all the dogs," Williams said. "The seriousness of parvo and their illness will keep us from doing that."

Some of the animals also suffered from intestinal parasites and mange – both conditions, Williams said, were treatable and manageable.

Garner police said the animals' caretaker likely would not be charged and that the animals were taken because she had too many for her neighborhood, as outlined in Garner's town ordinance.

She was attempting to rescue the dogs from shelters to keep them from being euthanized, authorities said.

"As I understand it, she would adopt these dogs off Craigslist and then try to make sure she then found them a good home," Garner police spokesman Chris Clayton said.

"(It was a case of) simply somebody trying to do good, but had just more dogs than the resources she had," he added.