ESSEX, Vt. (WCAX) – Dogs are getting ill and sometimes passing away from a breathing disease, and vets state they don’t understand what it is. The news has some dog owners stressed.
“It is you know a concern a little bit,” said Tabatha Rucinski of Winooski.
News of a mystical disease flowing amongst dogs in our location has animal owners on alert.
“Definitely being at dog parks because you never know. It’s like kids, you never know what other dogs have,” Rucinski said.
In the last 4 weeks, Burlington Emergency & Veterinary Specialists state they have actually seen 21 cases of moderate to extreme breathing infections which present vaccines aren’t avoiding the illness. In 2 cases, dogs have actually passed away.
“A lot of times we will see like kennel cough go around. It will be dogs that get boarded or go to the dog park. But I am seeing this in dogs that like stay home and don’t go anywhere. You know, obviously, this thing is pretty contagious,” said Dr. Erin Forbes of the Mountain View Animal Hospital.
Forbes says she has actually been getting calls from animal owners about the disease as typically as two times a day.
The dogs reveal signs like sneezing, eye discharge, foamy saliva, absence of cravings, fever and a cough.
Veterinarians state they don’t understand what the disease is or where it originated from however it is infectious.
“Something very similar happened in New Hampshire last fall,” Forbes said. “It went away pretty quickly from what I understand. It was there, and all of a sudden it was gone. So that’s kind of what we are hoping here.”
Forbes says she has actually had the ability to deal with dogs with prescription antibiotics and after a couple of days, they are feeling much better.
But animal owners state this news is worrying.
“I send my dog to day care, so she has her vaccines. So, obviously, I wouldn’t want her to get sick, but, obviously, I would not send her to day care if she had symptoms of something,” said Julia Lynch of Colchester.
“We make sure to take them to the vet and they have all their shots updated all the time, so I think it’ll probably be OK,” said Greg Bates of Essex Junction.
Forbes says if you are fretted about your dog’s health or become aware of any dogs getting ill at daycare, it might be best to keep your puppy at home.
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