A Deadly Disease Kept Secret at a Texas Sanctuary!

Is is with a heavy heart to report that In-Sync Exotics, the facility where Sabu calls home, has four tigers officially diagnosed with the highly contagious disease known as canine distemper.  

The Dallas/Plano area has an on-going problem with raccoons dying from this disease since January 2013.  The disease progression slowly moved across the Plano/Dallas/Dallas Ft Worth area until it finally reached Wylie, Texas. For the last three months, In-Sync has seen three raccoons exhibiting the signs of canine distemper and in either late April or early May, In-Sync claimed to have found two dead raccoons on the property.  Apparently, Animal Control would not test the dead raccoons unless they bit a person.  So the plan was to capture a live raccoon on the property, take it to their vet to have it destroyed and tested for distemper.  In-Sync does vaccinates its cats from canine distemper as tigers, lions, leopards, and jaguars are susceptible to the disease, and so they hoped their cats would be safe from this distemper outbreak.  

They were wrong.  Tacoma and Kiro were struck with the disease first.  Test results of the remaining big cats showed two more tigers, one from the "brats" and one from the "babies" groups (Emma and Iona), also contracted the disease. Since this canine distemper is highly contagious and lethal, the odds are at least 10 tigers infected.

Thankfully, none of the lions, including Sabu, tested positive thus far.

I learned that In-Sync finally told the volunteers about this deadly disease last week via email as they may be carriers of this disease to their own homes, to their own pets, and were strongly encouraged to have their own pets vaccinated. Volunteers have been warned not to share the details about the distemper outbreak   with anyone outside the organization -- not to post on FB or twitter until the organization is ready to release this information.  It was to be kept a secret from the community.

For the last two weeks, In-Sync has been pushing their Big Birthday Bash scheduled for this upcoming Saturday.  I could not believe In-Sync still wanted to host this event with all the sick animals on the property.  Ads continued on Facebook until this afternoon, when they finally cancelled the event.  Instead, they   announced they will continue to keep their gates open for tours this weekend!  What???

Keeping this terrifying disease, where the death rate is rather high, from the public is crazy and a sure way to loose their supporters once this news leaks out.  There is no way they can keep this big of a secret from the media for very long.  If In-Sync does not get ahead of this story before it's leaked out, In-Sync will be in serious trouble.  

I hate watching all this happen to an organization that I once thought had such tremendous potential.  This reminds me so much of the WAO case, all over again.  WAO directors kept a lot of "secrets" from the public and look where it got them!

Had this case been handled correctly from the beginning, then perhaps they would be doing much better financially.  I've heard they have some serious medical bills pending and really needed big events, like the Birthday Bash,  to make up the decline in donations, which probably explains why they were so hesitant to cancel the Birthday Bash and ultimately close their doors until this outbreak is under control.

I knew that if I reached out to In-Sync with emergency management advice, my hands would be slapped away.  So I am going to try to help them from behind the scenes without drawing any attention to myself and focusing my efforts on the cats.

I've been praying for Sabu and the animals of In-Sync Exotics every day.  I still cannot believe all the bad things happening to this organization ever since I left.  I'll keep you posted on the final results of this medical emergency.  May God bless and protect them all...

Later:  Next day I received this in my inbox.

In-Sync Exotics Hit by Canine Distemper, PLEASE READ!

Thu, Jun 13, 2013 at 7:26 PM

In-Sync Exotics Hit By Canine Distemper It is with extreme regret that we must postpone our Annual Big Cat Birthday Bash, which had been scheduled for this Saturday, June 15. A new date has not yet been determined but will likely be in the fall. Three months ago, 25 raccoons in Plano were found to have canine distemper, a potentially deadly virus that typically only affects dogs, raccoons, and ferrets. Two weeks ago in Arlington, 29 raccoons also tested positive. Cases have also been confirmed in McKinney and right here at home in Wylie. Now, sadly, the disease has been confirmed in four of our big cats; another 18 have also started showing symptoms. This disease is not new to exotic cats and has stricken populations both in the wild and in captivity (see links below). Historically speaking, it affects only cats in the genus Panthera, which includes lions, tigers, leopards, and jaguars. There is no evidence that the smaller cats such as cheetahs, cougars, servals, lynx, bobcats, ocelots, or domestic cats can contract the disease. Viruses, however, do occasionally mutate so we are watching all cats closely and all of our smaller cats seem to be just fine. Within the last couple months, we have witnessed four raccoons on In-Sync property that have displayed strange or symptomatic behavior. None of these raccoons were found in a cat's enclosure, but direct contact between an infected raccoon and a cat is not necessary. For example, a raccoon could climb up a nearby tree onto the roof of an enclosure. Once there it may well have urinated or defecated into the enclosure where the cat was intrigued by the smell and went to explore it. Contact between the cat and urine could readily explain the transmission of the disease. All of our cats routinely receive complete rounds of all vaccinations suggested by exotic cat experts, accrediting agencies, and our veterinarian. This includes vaccinations against feline distemper (also feline parvo). Our cats were never vaccinated against canine distemper because we were advised against doing so; the vaccination carries dangers of its own, and the risk of them contracting the disease has always been very slight. When our first cats started showing symptoms, we immediately vaccinated the others. Since then, some of the vaccinated cats have begun to show symptoms. It is unclear whether this is a result of the vaccine or the disease itself. We have ten big cats that remain asymptomatic. Because it is a virus, we cannot treat the illness directly. What we are doing; however, is giving all big cats antibiotics to ward off any secondary infections and multiple vitamins/supplements to support their immune, nervous, and digestive symptoms. We hope this will help their bodies fight the virus. While this disease does not represent a danger to humans, we are postponing our Birthday Bash so that we can devote all of our attention to the health of our cats. The medication routine is extensive, time consuming, and expensive. Additionally, the symptomatic cats are lethargic and stressed; we do not want to add to that stress with large crowds and loud music. We are not closing our gates entirely Saturday. We will still be open to the public, but there will simply not be a party. If you'd like to come visit our cats, please do so. However, if you have a dog at home that has NOT been vaccinated against canine distemper, please do not visit us right now. If you do so, you do so at your own risk. Please understand that it is too early for us to have a prognosis at this point. We are doing everything we can to help our cats and are praying they all pull out of this. If you'd like to help, please consider donating money, gift cards (Wal Mart, Kroger, etc.) or supplies. Needed supplies include: bleach, bleach wipes, hand sanitizer, hand soap, and paper towels. We could also use your positive thoughts and prayers. Links of interest: http://www.natureworldnews.com/articles/2382/20130611/tiger-populations-threatened-dog-disease.htm http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2013/06/130612-canine-distemper-virus-health-tigers-science-animals/ As always, we appreciate your continued support and understanding! Vicky Keahey In-Sync Exotics email: vkeahey@insyncexotics.com web: http://www.insyncexotics.com

Two Happy Former WAO Bears!

Seeing Natasha and Tiny having such a great time together makes all the sacrifices I made for the WAO animals over the last seven years (and counting) worth it!  I pray the surviving animals from the WAO are just as happy as these two bears!

Later:  I found this posting on Facebook today regarding Boris:

Mark Hernandez By chance do you think Brett could check on another bear that came from the WAO named Boris? Boris is a Russian brown bear and he's in his 20s. He is supposed to be living right next to Tasha and Tiny! Brett is real lucky to be working with these two bears as they were such characters at the WAO!

Ricki Hart Actually, Boris lives in this same enclosure! Unfortunately, he very seldom comes out. Every once in a while they see him poke his head out of the den and they know he comes out and eats, but he has become very reclusive. The dens at this sanctuary go way back into the earth and are slanted so that the temperature stays the same in there despite the weather. Boris seems to feel happier and more secure in there. I watched Tiny and Natasha the other week-end and they really made me laugh. They have a new HUGE swimming pool with a big rock water fall going into it and they were hamming it up big time.

Mark Hernandez Thank you, Ricki, for the update on Boris - I'm sorry to read he rarely comes out of his den as he was such a vivacious bear at the WAO. He use to love when the community service kids came out because it meant he got to eat lots of fresh apples ((his favorite by the way). He was always jumping up and down, trying to get their attention, to the delight of the kids. Very happy to see that Tiny & Natasha have each other as they can be such a pair (as you have already seen!). They had a tiny pool at the WAO so I'm very happy to read they have a huge swimming pool with a waterfall. They loved to play in the water all the time, so it is fitting they finally got their dream pool!

Ricki Hart Yes, I had heard from some other WAO people that Boris was full of life and a true character. I don't know what caused this reversal in him - it is sad, but they are sure he's healthy. I do wish he would come out and enjoy his big new enclosure and pool.

This news is heartbreaking because Boris was such a "people-loving" bear.  Last time he went into deep depression was when he was removed from Leslie Road and taken to Talley Road to live in a small enclousure with other bears living around him.  Boris grew up around people, not bears, so when he refused to come out of his den, the animal caretakers asked if he could be moved back to Leslie Road.  The WAO did seek permission to move Boris back to Leslie Road from the USDA and once he made the move, his depression immediately lifted.  Boris returned to his happy self.

Now that he lives on a property with very little human contact, Boris retreated to his den, where he will undoubtedly die underground, alone.  Breaks my heart knowing that Boris is not happy like Tasha and Tiny.  He so loved people and his pool at the WAO.  So heartbreaking.

>^..^<