UPDATE Posted Friday, May 2 --- 2:05pm

MILWAUKEE (AP) -- A bacterial strain that killed more than 1,000 dogs in two other outbreaks has been found in some of the seven dogs who died at a Waukesha area shelter.

The Wisconsin Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory has determined dogs from the Humane Animal Welfare Society of Waukesha County had strain of streptococcus in the respiratory system.

The lab's associate director, Dr. Peter Vanderloo, says workers also isolated a parainfluenza virus but are doing more tests and should know more soon.

Kate Hurley is the director at the University of California-Davis Kort Shelter Medicine Program. She says more than 1,000 dogs died during a Las Vegas outbreak of the streptococcus strain in early 2007 and about a dozen at a Miami shelter in February.

Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.

________________________________________________________

Posted Friday, May 2 --- 8:55am

WAUKESHA, Wis. (AP) -- A Waukesha humane society stopped taking in dogs after seven of them died in 10 days from an unknown illness.

The Humane Animal Welfare Society of Waukesha County says it's no longer is accepting dogs while the disease is being investigated.

Executive director Lynn Olenik says it's extremely frustrating not to know the cause of the fast-acting illness that quickly turned dogs from healthy to lethargic and feverish.

Laboratory tests are being done to determine the specific illness involved, and results could be available as soon as tomorrow.

WITI-TV in Milwaukee reports the humane society learned Thursday evening that a bacterial infection appeared to be involved.

According to WTMJ-TV in Milwaukee, the illness showed up first in a group of five dogs that came from the Milwaukee Area Domestic Animal Control Commission. Those animals came from a near south side area of Milwaukee.

The humane society at first thought the five dogs had been exposed to harmful materials, but then the illness started affecting dogs that already had been in Waukesha.

Copyright 2008 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.