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