170 animals were destroyed at the Tangipahoa Parish animal shelter without much planning, warning nor explanation. The shelter blames a mysterious virus but some in the town believe there may have been other motives.

HAMMOND — When Besty Pittman walked into the Tangipahoa Parish Animal Shelter on Tuesday morning, she was struck by the silence.

The day before, on her day off, all of its scores of cats and dogs had been euthanized because of what parish officials described as an unknown, highly contagious, airborne virus.

“It was devastating,” Pittman said Wednesday evening. “There were no animals anywhere.”

After a sleepless night and many tears, Pittman, an euthanasia technician, said she turned in her resignation Wednesday over what she described as the senseless putting down of all 170 animals at the shelter.

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