ST. LOUIS • Seventeen dogs have died at a St. Louis animal shelter after a virus outbreak.

Stray Rescue founder Randy Grim says the dogs, most of them puppies, died from a disease called distemper, a virus that can affect dogs’ respiratory and central nervous systems and cause coughing, discharge from the eyes and nose, vomiting, diarrhea and fatigue. About 24 dogs in the facility have tested positive for the disease so far.

The shelter, at 2320 Pine Street, cares for as many as 400 dogs at a time. The facility will not be accepting any rescues for the next 30 days.

“I have cried so much,” Grim said Sunday concerning the outbreak. “I mean, I love them. I rescue them.”

He said that the disease could mirror a very common shelter virus called kennel cough but that he knew something was wrong when more dogs were becoming ill. He began to suspect distemper, and that was confirmed over the weekend.

Grim said he believed the outbreak was caused by distemper-infected raccoons in the area. Dogs with lower immune systems and ones who have never been vaccinated carry the highest risk, he said.