Star Tribune
Animal Humane Society canine flu quarantine will last until mid-May
The Animal Humane Society said Friday the canine flu quarantine will last until at least mid-May at its three Twin Cities locations.
The Animal Humane Society closed earlier this month after a dog transported from Oklahoma tested positive for canine influenza, a highly contagious respiratory virus similar to kennel cough. The adoption centers in Golden Valley, Woodbury and Coon Rapids closed on April 6.
This is the largest outbreak of canine influenza recorded in Minnesota, according to the state’s Board of Animal Health.
“No dog in Minnesota has really been exposed to [canine influenza],” said Dr. Graham Brayshaw, the Humane Society’s director of veterinary medicine. “So if it gets out there, it spreads like wildfire. That’s why we’re trying to be so careful with it.”
Brayshaw said they are quarantining nearly 200 dogs and have repurposed their adoption staff and facilities to assist in caring for them. The Humane Society has implemented a 30-day quarantine that will begin after the last dog stops exhibiting symptoms.
‘Bursting at the seams’
In the absence of resources from one of the largest animal shelters in the state, other shelters and nonprofit rescues have seen a rise in intake and surrender applications that have strained their facilities.
“We’re bursting at the seams just like everyone else, but we’re doing our best to maintain and get our adoption numbers up,” said Madison Weissenborn, a spokesperson for Minneapolis Animal Care and Control.
Both St. Paul Animal Control and Minneapolis Animal Care and Control have seen an uptick and said it’s difficult to pinpoint whether the rise is directly related to the Humane Society closure or simply warmer weather across the state.
“We are seeing a lot of people who are really desperate to rehome animals, and it’s hard because there’s not a lot of options right now,” SPAC animal services manager Molly Lunaris said. “We’re trying to encourage people to wait when they can.”
Foster families needed
Foster-based rescues in the Twin Cities have found difficulty finding families willing to take in new dogs. The Minnetonka-based rescue Secondhand Hounds has attributed this to an overall wariness of bringing new animals into homes amid news of the canine influenza quarantine. No cases have been recorded in the state outside of the Humane Society.
“With the increase in surrender applications coming in, we really need fosters now more than ever,” Secondhand Hounds Executive Director Rachel Mairose said.
The quarantined dogs at the Humane Society will be immune to canine influenza upon their release, which will be cleared by the Board of Animal Health.
“It will not just be us saying they’re good to go, but it will be the state saying this is a group we feel comfortable having out in the community,” Brayshaw said.
A 65-year-old pedestrian was struck and killed by a pickup truck near Christmas Lake Friday afternoon as she was walking through a crosswalk, the Minnesota State Patrol said.
The woman was crossing Highway 7 around 1 p.m. when she was hit by a 2019 Ford F-150 turning left from Christmas Lake Road onto the highway headed east, the State Patrol said in its report. The intersection is just east of Excelsior, between Saint Albans Bay and Christmas Lake west of Minneapolis.
The Hennepin County Sheriff’s Office, Minnetonka police, and other agencies responded to the fatal collision. The State Patrol has not released the identity of the pedestrian.
The driver has not been arrested. Agencies are still investigating the collision, State Patrol Lt. Michael Lee said. Alcohol was not involved in the crash, the State Patrol said.
Former trooper Shane Roper, 32, had his last day Tuesday, State Patrol Lt. Michael Lee said. Roper’s attorney did not immediately return a request for comment Friday evening.
In July, Roper was charged with criminal vehicular homicide and manslaughter. He was also charged with criminal vehicle operation related to five other people who were seriously injured in the incident.
The criminal complaint states that Roper had been pursuing someone “suspected of committing a petty traffic offense” as he exited Hwy. 52 onto 12th Street SW. As he neared the intersection with Apache Drive, he reportedly turned his lights off and continued to accelerate with a fully engaged throttle.
Roper was traveling at 83 mph with his lights and siren off as he approached the intersection, a Rochester police investigation found. The trooper’s squad car slammed into the passenger side of a car occupied by Olivia Flores, which was heading west and turning into the mall.
Flores died from the blunt force injuries. She was an Owatonna High School cheerleader and set to graduate June 7. There were two other people in the car with Flores.
Olmsted County Attorney Mark Ostrem said in a statement following the charges that Roper violated his duty in “a gross fashion.”
Roper told investigators he was not paying attention to his speed at the time of the crash, and that he believed his lights were still activated when he exited the highway.
Steven Frane Bailey, 56, of St. Louis Park was arrested in connection with the incident and charged with two counts of criminal vehicular homicide and nine counts of criminal vehicular operation. His blood alcohol content measured at 0.325% after officers administered a preliminary breath test at HCMC, according to charges filed in Hennepin County District Court.
In his first court appearance Wednesday, Bailey told a judge his use of alcohol is not a problem. He has an extensive history of drunken driving convictions, starting in 1985 in Wisconsin. Additional convictions followed in Wabasha County in 1993 and Hennepin County in 1998, according to court records. Two more convictions followed in 2014 and 2015.
A Hennepin County judge set his bail at $500,000 with several conditions, including that Bailey take a substance use disorder assessment, that he abstain from drinking alcohol, avoid Park Tavern and stay away from the victims and his family.
His next court appearance is tentatively scheduled for Oct. 1.
Staff writers Paul Walsh and Jeff Day contributed to this report.
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