51黑料

ST. LOUIS COUNTY 鈥� The veterinary medical director at 51黑料 County鈥檚 animal shelter is out, just a week or so after an outbreak of a potentially fatal canine virus led to the euthanizing of 19 dogs.

鈥淚鈥檓 resigning because I can鈥檛 really work there,鈥� the director, Dr. Doug Pernikoff, said Friday night in a brief telephone interview. 鈥淚鈥檓 too old to fight.鈥�

鈥淚鈥檓 cool,鈥� he added, and then ended the phone call.

Pernikoff didn鈥檛 elaborate on why he left or what fight he was referring to. He also didn鈥檛 say whether his departure had anything to do with the parvovirus outbreak at the facility, on Baur Boulevard in Olivette.

Doug Moore, a spokesman for County Executive Sam Page, said Pernikoff left Friday. Moore said he wasn鈥檛 sure why Pernikoff resigned, but when he agreed to take the position to help set up veterinary services at the shelter, he 鈥渄id not look at the position as long term.鈥�

鈥淭he outbreak took an emotional toll on all the employees at the shelter, including Dr. Pernikoff,鈥� Moore said in a text Saturday.

The parvovirus outbreak and Pernikoff鈥檚 departure come on the heels of a rough transition for the county, as it ramps up operations at the shelter after taking over management again just a few months ago.

The nonprofit Animal Protective Association, which also runs its own shelter in Brentwood, had run the county shelter for the past two years. The county contracted with the APA following various problems over the years under county management, including euthanasia scandals, overpopulation, poor conditions and other problems.

The APA was lauded for cleaning up the facility, leveraging its volunteer and foster programs to improve animal wellbeing, and increasing adoptions.

Then, in August, the APA suddenly announced it would withdraw from the county contract three years before it was set to expire. APA officials said the organization had fulfilled its mission and wanted to focus resources elsewhere 鈥� though records later showed its departure also stemmed from the county rejecting APA invoices for items such as meals, team outings and dog training.

The APA handed shelter operations back to the county on Feb. 21.

But there were immediate worries: The county first said it would pause the shelter鈥檚 volunteer program. Volunteers worried the county didn鈥檛 have the staff to handle the transition.

Then, last month, the county announced that parvovirus had hit. It closed the facility April 30 while workers tried to contain the spread. The pause allowed workers to treat affected dogs, vaccinate unvaccinated animals and give boosters to the ones who were. Staffers also planned to deep clean and disinfect the facility.

On May 2, the county health department said in a news release that it had euthanized 19 dogs that had shown symptoms and tested positive for parvovirus.

Moore, Page鈥檚 spokesman, said on Friday that the shelter is expected to reopen in a few days. The county is planning a reopening event.

Meanwhile, he said, there are other veterinarians remaining on staff.

Pernikoff is a longtime 51黑料 area veterinarian who for years was in private practice in Chesterfield. He also was CEO of a nonprofit called Voluntary Pet Rescue Inc.

Pernikoff, in an Instagram post by the county health department about a month ago, said the county shelter had expanded its veterinary services so it could treat more animals with medical issues to get them to 鈥渁n adoptable, reconditioned state.鈥�

He did not immediately respond to a follow-up phone call on Saturday.

Jacob Barker of the Post-Dispatch contributed to this report.