HOUSTON -- Local 2 Investigates is looking into why sick animals are dying after being adopted from the city of Houston's animal shelter known as BARC.

Former employees and volunteers say it's "routine" for dogs to die after leaving BARC. We've uncovered BARC's own records can't even explain what's really being done to stop the problem.

"He got progressively sicker and sicker," said Chris Dodson, who adopted a dog named Bear from BARC. "He couldn't even move."

Just days after Dodson adopted Bear, a vet diagnosed the dog with the deadly distemper virus.

"They told is to go ahead that day and put it down," Dodson said.

Dodson tried several vet specialists and spent around $3,000 to help Bear survive. Weeks later, Bear died in the back yard.

Dodson's sister later asked him to go back to BARC. He was determined not to adopt again, but that's when he saw a dog named Hondo.

"At first I thought, 'No way,'" Dodson said. "And then you kind of look back and you see those eyes. It's one of those things that's really hard to say no to."

Hondo left BARC, went home, but soon he was sick, too.

"He was sitting on my bed, and he started shaking and sloshing at the mouth," explained Dodson.

Hondo died. He was also diagnosed with distemper.

"You can't really believe this is happening again. Two dogs from BARC dead," Dodson said.

Dodson is not alone.

Local 2 Investigates has heard from dozens of other families who say the same thing happened to them.

One group of former BARC volunteers tell us they watched four complete litters of puppies die from distemper after leaving the shelter. The former volunteers say the problem is so bad, they started their own pup squad rescue group to save puppies from BARC and rescue the animals before they ever get to the facility.

"It's just a never-ending frustration," Dodson said. "You know it's got to stop, but it's not stopping."

So why are so many dogs dying? Volunteers and former workers say it's because BARC is not vaccinating animals when they arrive. Some puppies go days or weeks without protection against disease. Once one animals gets sick, critics say BARC isn't doing enough to stop disease from spreading.

"We are definitely concerned," said Michael Terraso, assistant director of Health and Human Services at the city of Houston. "We are definitely putting practices into place that should at least address that."

Terraso's department oversees BARC. He says animals that are already sick are brought into the shelter from Houston neighborhoods, but he agrees that vaccination is a key to preventing any spread of disease.

"We're trying to vaccinate the animals before intake in the field or upon intake when they come in," Terraso said.

Local 2 Investigates uncovered no one knows exactly how many animals have been vaccinated at BARC.

In budget paperwork, BARC itself said workers vaccinated just 8 percent of animals from last summer to January 2009. Terraso says he believes the rate was more like 98 percent. There are no complete records to prove either one.

"We need to trust our data," Terraso explained. "To be quite frank with you, up until two months ago, three months ago, I was not convinced our data was accurate."

Terraso says BARC has instituted a new policy that records vaccinations daily. Workers are now isolating puppies from the rest of the shelter to help keep them from getting sick.

But we've learned BARC is still not tracking the number of animals who get sick or die after leaving.

Terraso says BARC needs to know those numbers.

"We're trying diligently to change the culture at BARC," Terraso said.

Critics say they've heard it all before.

"They come back and they return them because they have distemper or parvo," former BARC vet tech Michelle Haberland told Local 2 Investigates back in 2006. "You have to look those people in the face and say, 'I'm sorry. I don't know what else to say.'"

Three years ago, a new BARC director promised change.

"The bar is being raised," said then-director Kent Robertson.

There have been a number of BARC directors since Robertson.

BARC's latest director left this month after just two months on the job. The same problems continue.

"They'll kind of brush it over and say we're working on this and it'll get better," said Dodson. "But it doesn't."

The city says this time will be different.

"I know that once these processes are implemented and we get the proper personnel at BARC that they will see a difference," Terraso said.

On Tuesday, the city announced it is hiring what's called a "turn around" or "change agent" consultant to overhaul BARC. It will cost taxpayers up to $208,000 for a six-month contract. The consultant starts Thursday.