URBANA — The Champaign County Humane Society has stopped accepting dogs for a couple weeks after seeing three cases of canine parvovirus; many of its dogs also have upper-respiratory infections.

The shelter will begin accepting dogs again Aug. 24, if not sooner, if it's safe to do so, said Director Mary Tiefenbrunn.

In the meantime, those who bring their dogs will be asked to keep them for two more weeks. The humane society will give the dogs a free vaccination; in two weeks, the dogs will be ready for a booster shot and have a better chance at being able to fight off the virus, Tiefenbrunn said.

Animals not in a safe environment will go to Champaign County Animal Control.

The shelter made the decision Wednesday to stop accepting dogs temporarily, Tiefenbrunn said, but hasn't had to turn many away so far.

"There are occasions during the summer that we sometimes have a big weekend; I'm hoping that we're not going to have one of those," Tiefenbrunn said. "It's really preferable that people ... hold on to their (dogs), if the animals are adoptable."

Parvo is a virus spread through fecal matter and can be treated if detected early.

"It is also really serious, and if it's not caught early, the treatment can be very difficult," Tiefenbrunn said. "It can be fatal, especially for vulnerable animals like puppies," as well as those that aren't so healthy or have never been vaccinated.

The shelter is cleaning kennels with bleach to kill it, she said, but there's always a chance it can spread.

The upper-respiratory infections can be treated easily, she said.

"If we just had the parvo or upper respiratory (problems), we wouldn't have had to do this," Tiefenbrunn said. "With both going on, we felt like we needed to let our population of dogs get a little lower through adoption."

The humane society is also working to get purebred dogs into rescues, said a statement on its website.

The Champaign County Humane Society is still accepting cats and other animals. Visitors are welcome during open hours, and dogs, cats and other animals are still available for adoption.

However, while you're there, take note of the society's multiple hand sanitizing stations and requests that you use them after you touch even one animal. This will help stop the spread of upper-respiratory infections.

"There's a really good reason for that," Tiefenbrunn said. "The more people who respect our request that they use sanitizer, the less disease we have."

The humane society's decision to stop taking dogs was made out of caution, Tiefenbrunn said, and the shelter's medical staff was able to recognize the dogs with parvo quickly.

"Because of their astute observation and attention to this, we've been able to stop it from getting worse," Tiefenbrunn said.

However, she said, it draws attention to the fact that there are dogs in the community that haven't been vaccinated.

"One of the things that this emphasizes is how important it is to keep your dogs vaccinated," Tiefenbrunn said. "Parvo is a serious disease that can be fatal, but the vaccine is extremely effective. I encourage people to really pay attention to what their veterinarians recommend for vaccinations. If a dog is coming in (to the shelter), it sure is better if they're protected."

For information, visit cuhumane.org.