ACCT Philly asking for help as 'kennel cough' spikes

PHILADELPHIA (WPVI) -- ACCT Philly asking for help as upper respiratory infections are spiking among the dogs in its shelter.

Representatives of ACCT said "Kennel cough" has a tendency of increasing in part due to a large number of animals in the shelter.

ACCT's Susan Russell said, "We have a lot of animals in our kennel. What we're attempting to do is get more of them adopted."

What the staff here at ACCT Philly knows is that when a kennel gets really packed, it can get super noisy.

And when it gets super noisy, it can get super stressful making a dog's immune system less robust as would any human.

What's happening is some dogs are getting sick, and some even dying from upper respiratory infections.

"What we did see in a few of our dogs is a very quick step to pneumonia. So that's why we're ensuring that we get a consult. We are reviewing all of our cleaning processes. We are putting in place new processes," said Russell.

ACCT is consulting with the University of Pennsylvania, as well as national experts on the subject, but another priority is getting these dogs new homes.

Dogs like Flint, a three-year-old terrier pit bull and Nene who only responds to Spanish words.

Ali Scott and her daughter, Laura, fell in love with a dog appropriately named, Honk.

"When we walked away to go see another dog she started barking and it sounded like a car horn," said Laura.

ACCT Philly is looking for more people like the Scotts to help reduce the dog population at the shelter.

They are also looking for people who just want to foster dogs temporarily in their homes.

"The future of helping pets in our city is really getting those foster networks built so we really need a lot more people to do that," said Russell.

The shelter also has a 'No Kill Help Desk,' which provides assistance to pet owners who might want to keep their pets but just need some help doing so.

For further information, contact ACCT Philly or go on their website.