Now {that a} mysterious canine illness has made its method formally to Washington State, the state veterinarian, Dr. Amber Itle, is asking canine homeowners to be vigilant. Itle mentioned they haven’t been in a position to pinpoint an actual explanation for the illness and so they’re attempting to get information they want from laboratories to know extra.
“What we don’t know is if this is something new or is it just something where we’re having outbreaks of disease presenting in a different way,” Itle mentioned. “We’re definitely looking into these cases we’re doing the investigations, we’re trying to get the data that we need through laboratories so we can really understand what we’re looking at.”
Shannon Rau is the proprietor of Martha’s Garden in Seattle. She informed KIRO 7 that she is taking further precautions to maintain dogs secure.
Itle mentioned there are signs canine homeowners ought to pay attention to.
“We’re really keeping our play groups very small right now,” she mentioned. “We’re just kind of making sure everything is one-on-one or really deep cleaning everything between uses,” she mentioned.
“So as soon as a dog starts coughing as soon as we get a little runny nose or watery eyes, the dog is lethargic or not wanting to eat that’s when we really want to get that dog into the vet immediately,” Itle mentioned.
One of the most effective methods to guard your dogs is to ensure they’re absolutely vaccinated. That is a requirement at most doggie daycares. Itle additionally mentioned to keep away from canine parks and hold dogs from congregating if doable.
“In daycare, you know that everyone has all of their vaccines, they’ll have their Bordetella, their Distemper, their rabies,” Rau mentioned.
With the vacations across the nook, many nonetheless might must board their dogs. Rau mentioned to ensure to ask about cleansing protocols.
“If you ask someone, if they’re able to tell you that’s a really good sign,” she mentioned.
She additionally mentioned to ask about playgroup sizes.
“One of the questions you always want to ask your dog daycare is how big are your playgroups and that does determine how much one-on-one care your dog is being given,” she mentioned.
So far in Washington there have been two confirmed circumstances of the illness, one in Snohomish County and the opposite in Clark County. Both dogs are recovering.
