Fixing up the city pound in an effort to prevent the spread of parvo - a virus that can prove fatal to puppies - would cost upwards of $100,000, an amount bylaw enforcement manager John Taylor hopes city council will approve.

Taylor asked council to OK the expense at Monday evening's city council meeting, where he was joined by Rick Brown, the owner of the Alpine Veterinary Medical Centre.

The Quartz Road pound, Taylor told council, has contended with five outbreaks of the virus in the past two years.

In the last three months, he said, it has found its way into the animal containment area where animals are kept separated from the general population to prevent the spread of disease. It has proven near-impossible to contain and eradicate the virus in that area.

"The virus is extremely contagious and has been able to find its way into the cracks and crevasses inside the runs and reassert itself to infect new dogs when they are held in the runs," notes a report Taylor presented to the city.

It was at a May 27 meeting between the bylaw department, the city's building maintenance branch and Alpine Vet that it was determined the only way to get rid of the virus was to renovate the containment area, completely stripping the interior and rebuilding it in a way that ensures there's no area where viruses would survive.

"It was brought to our attention that our facility could be compromised when the veterinarian from Alpine Veterinary Medical Centre Ltd., under contract to the city, provided us with a detailed list of preventative measures to be taken to minimize, although not eradicate the contagious diseases of concern," reads the repot.

While the initial cost estimate puts the renovations at $100,000, Taylor also said that is a "ball park figure" that could change.

Council's approval would get the ball rolling to begin moving ahead with the renovations, he said.

Some of the initiatives bylaw staff have already taken are putting foot baths in all areas, not allowing the general public in areas where dogs are housed and holding animals transferred to the Mae Bachur Animal Shelter in isolation there before they're put into the shelter's general population.

While there are no guarantees that parvo would not make its way back to the pound, Brown said, it would go a long way to prevent it in the future.

In 2008, a total of 298 dogs were impounded, with 196 of those being claimed, another 78 being sent to the Humane Society Yukon's shelter and 24 being euthanized.

Meanwhile, 39 cats were impounded, 11 of those being claimed, another 26 being sent to the animal shelter and two being euthanized.

It's proposed the estimated $100,000 it would cost to fix the containment area would come from the city's building replacement fund.

Councillors Doug Graham, Florence Roberts and Jan Stick were absent from Monday's meeting.