Be on Alert: Mystery Illness killing dogs

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

19 Action News|Cleveland, OH|News, Weather, Sports

Canal Fulton is 15 minutes from my home but Cincinnati is 5.5 hours away.  Recognize the symptoms and get help right away.  For me, I may have waited until the next day to seek help.  Bloody diarrhea is common in parasites and I may have just thought my dog caught something and gone in the next day carrying my stool sample.

CANAL FULTON, OH (WOIO) -

Experts are still trying to get to the bottom of what killed three dogs at a the Pet Spot in Cincinnati.  The dogs were extremely lethargic, had bloody diarrhea and were vomiting. Some may have thought what happened at the Pet Spot was an isolated incident, but in just the past week, four dogs with similar gastrointestinal symptoms showed up at the Elm Ridge Animal Hospital in Canal Fulton. 

Dr. Melanie Butera says the dogs she treated had the same symptoms as the ones in Cincinnati.  One even died. 

The illness comes on fast.  Some dogs survive, but it's important to get medical help as soon as your dog is showing signs of possibly having the sickness. 

"There is no next day with this. The dogs can do down hill within 48 hours, so we are just urging people, if your dog acts sick, to go to your vet especially if you start to see vomiting or bloody diarrhea," says Dr. Butera.

Dr. Butera says the problem may be more widespread than originally thought.  She says other veterinarians in the Canal Fulton area have also reported seeing dogs with symptoms of the mystery illness.

19 Action News|Cleveland, OH|News, Weather, Sports

[Jennifer and Jack]

I think it is and now I think I am going to let him get it.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Thank you Olga. :)

Jack gets the three year versions of the core vaccines (rabies and DHP- distemper, hepatitis, parvo), and that's staggered, so he got a DHP shot in 2011, a rabies shot in 2012, and nothing this year. The parainfluenza vaccine used to be part of the annual vaccine cocktail (DHPP, some vets add lepto and then it's DHLPP) but since the flu vaccine has to be given every year to be effective, that doesn't work as part of a shot they only get every three years, so my vets started giving it with the intranasal bordatella vaccine. He gets that once a year. 

Jack is never boarded, but he does go to the groomer, and I want him protected. Kennel cough is pretty common, and with all of his health issues, especially the GI issues, I don't want him to contract something that's going to require antibiotics. But the groomer of course wants it, too, although they've never checked.

You can do blood titers instead of vaccinating for the core vaccines (I did that in the past and may do it next time he's due for the DHP), but you can't titer for viruses like bordatella or the flu. 

I don't do the lepto vaccine at all.

[F, Calla & Luca]

Pretty scary. I guess we just have to be vigilant.

[Lynne Fowler-Oodles of Doodles]

Distemper is also becoming more widespread, too, right now. Similar symptoms.

[Janie, Jackson and Jilly]

Thanks for the alert, I hope they figure this out fast.

[Jennifer and Jack]

This is just so scary.... I just can't wrap my head around it.

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

Canal Fulton is a very small town of maybe, 10,000 but I bet less. I have never heard of a doggie daycare in the town.  They have a tiny little dog park, or more like a backyard, but I dont think many go there either

[Joanne ~ Spud*]

As of the census^[3] of 2010, there were 5,479 people, 2,186 households, and 1,488 families residing in the city.

[Diana Erhart]

The story that I read said that one of the dogs in Canal Fulton had been to the Cincinnati area recently.  Not sure about any others.  This is getting too close to us here in Western PA.  Another thing for me to panic about!

[Lonnie & Libby Lu]

This just gave me a chill!  How does something come on so fast and so deadly?

[Kyoko]

Scary!!

[Lynette Main]

Thanks for the news. I live in Lima Ohio. Not TOO far away from the Columbus area.Does anyone know what is causing this sickness???