Dr. Doug Pernikoff, the veterinary medical director at St. Louis County Animal Care and Control, has tendered his resignation. This move comes after the center was involved in a canine parvovirus outbreak. Pernikoff expressed his disengagement in a poignant yet succinct remark to FOX 2, stating he's "too old to fight." However, the specifics behind his decision to leave the animal shelter on Baur Boulevard in Olivette, remain undisclosed. Pernikoff's resignation was confirmed by Doug Moore, a spokesperson for County Executive Sam Page.
Prior to his involvement with the shelter, Pernikoff had spent many years in private practice, particularly in the locality of Chesterfield. Moore highlighted, Pernikoff "did not look at the position as long term," when he initially accepted the role to spearhead the setup of veterinary services at the facility, this is according to the details provided by St. Louis Post-Dispatch.
In the wake of the resignation, investigative steps were taken as KMOX News filed a Sunshine request for Pernikoff's plan, which had been submitted to the Department of Agriculture State of Missouri, the regulatory body for animal shelters. The information was subsequently provided to KMOX by the state, suggests a KMOX report.
Amidst the turnover, the underlying reasons for Pernikoff's abrupt departure are still unclear. He himself, has shied away from elaborating on what triggered his exit or whether it was directly related to the parvovirus outbreak that had earlier plagued the establishment. Efforts to glean further insights have hit a wall; Pernikoff indeed, did not return KMOX's calls for a deeper dive into the circumstances surrounding his resignation, based on the information from KMOX.
