Riverside County Animal Services Rescues Dog After Owner's Suspected COVID-Related Death
JURUPA VALLEY (CBSLA) — An officer with Riverside County Animal Services responded to a Jurupa Valley home July 2 after receiving a call from the sheriff's department that a dog was found in a home where a man was found dead, possibly due to coronavirus.
The cause of death was unknown, but the 46-year-old man had reportedly been suffering from flu-like symptoms for the past three weeks and had not been at work for the past week.
Officer John Hergenreder donned protective gear as a precaution and found the 1-year-old poodle mix in a crate inside the home in the 6700 block of Mann Avenue.
The dog was taken to the Western Riverside County/City Animal Shelter where it was placed in an isolation kennel area with signage stating that the animal was possibly owned by someone exposed to the virus.
Animal services staffers will attempt to reach out to the owner's next of kin. If they cannot be reached or cannot take the poodle mix, the animal will be re-homed.
