06/01/2026
📣 💔To our supporters and our fosters- There has been a great deal of discussion surrounding panleukopenia cases in Polk County, and we feel it is important to address some misinformation.
There have been insinuations that we are “enabling” animal control because we continue to pull animals from the shelter. We respectfully disagree with that characterization.
Panleukopenia is a devastating and highly contagious disease that can be found in shelters, on the streets, in private homes, and in community cat populations. While some cases have originated from animal control, cases have also been identified in animals with no connection to the shelter system. Suggesting that every case can be traced back to one source is simply not supported by the facts.
The reality is that rescue work often involves difficult choices. Every day, shelters and rescues are faced with animals that need immediate help. If rescues stop pulling animals entirely, many healthy, adoptable animals lose their opportunity to leave the shelter alive.
Do some animals become sick despite our best efforts? Unfortunately, yes. Rescue is not risk-free. We quarantine, vaccinate, disinfect, monitor, and follow veterinary guidance to reduce those risks as much as possible. But the presence of disease does not erase the lives that are saved.
What is often missing from this conversation is perspective. Focusing only on the animals that become ill ignores the hundreds of animals that have left the shelter healthy, entered loving foster homes, received medical care, been adopted into permanent families, or simply been given a chance to live because a rescue stepped forward. Those lives matter too.
If success is measured only by the animals we lose, then we fail to recognize the overwhelming number of animals who are alive today because rescues were willing to take a chance on them. Every life saved counts. Every adoption counts. Every animal that leaves the shelter and goes on to live a healthy life counts.
We have tremendous respect for everyone working to protect animals in our community, including fellow rescues, fosters, veterinarians, and shelter staff. We all share the same goal: reducing suffering and saving lives.
Hands Helping Paws will continue to advocate for improved disease control, responsible rescue practices, and the animals who need us most. We will continue to fight for the animals in front of us, while working toward a future where fewer animals enter shelters and fewer lives are put at risk in the first place. Hands Helping Paws Rescue
