A mysterious illness affecting dogs has reached the Pittsburgh area.
Dr. Mike Hutchinson of Animal General says symptoms of the respiratory disease are similar to that of kennel cough, hacking, coughing, runny nose and lethargy.
Kennel cough is a complex of five viruses and one bacterium.
The American Veterinary Medical Association recently identified Pennsylvania as one of the 16 states were the respiratory illness has been identified.
But, Hutchinson believe cases locally may go back to the summer, when they saw cases of, what they thought was kennel cough, lasting seven to eight weeks.
While the mysterious illness is in our area, Dr. Mike says to not be alarmed.
None of the dogs at his practices has died from the illness.
To keep your dog safe, avoid boarding and daycare for your dog, if possible. Don’t let your dog engage with dogs you don’t know and make sure its vaccinations are up to date.
If you’re dog is traveling with you for the holidays, Dr. Mike says if they’re healthy and seeing other healthy dogs, it’s not overly concerning and you can go about normal activities.
Contact your vet is your see these symptoms:
They develop a loss of appetite
Extreme fatigue
Coughing or hacking so much they vomit
Dr. Mike believes like most bugs the illness will eventually go away on its own.
Look at it this way, it’s like when you or someone you know always has a nagging cold in the winter that seems to last for months but, are still able to go to work and eat and drink as normal.