As more dogs get sick, Montgomery Co. urges dog owners to consider skipping dog parks - WTOP

1 year ago 41

More dogs successful the D.C. portion are getting sick, and the Montgomery County Office of Animal Services successful Maryland is encouraging favored owners to see skipping canine parks until the spike successful canine influenza begins to travel down.

Suspected cases of canine flu look person been connected the rise, and the unwellness is truthful prevalent and terrible that veterinarians advised canine owners past month to support pets distant from different dogs astatine places specified arsenic canine parks, doggy time cares and boarding facilities.

“Dogs that bash sojourn canine parks, doggy daycare oregon who are boarded erstwhile their owners are traveling are much astatine risk,” the Montgomery County Office of Animal Services said successful a statement.

The highly contagious unwellness is caused by a circumstantial strain of the Type A influenza virus.

Symptoms see cough, runny nose, oculus discharge, fever, lethargy and mediocre appetite.

“The signs scope successful severity betwixt nary signs astatine each and terrible illness, sometimes resulting successful death,” the carnal services bureau said.

At a canine parkland successful North Bethesda, radical were alert of the summation successful cases, but they didn’t look excessively disquieted astir it.

“We person already done his vaccine for it, truthful it’s concern arsenic usual,” said canine proprietor Ben Taylor. “We had to bash a canine time attraction and that required it, truthful we had to get it.”

Another canine proprietor Lauren McCullough said she would beryllium watching for immoderate imaginable symptoms.

“We haven’t had immoderate issues truthful far, but if we did, we would enactment distant for a mates months,” McCullough said. “Most of the dogs that travel present are puppies, and sometimes they travel earlier their archetypal vaccines and worldly similar that, truthful it tin beryllium a small spot of a blistery spot.”

The county’s carnal services bureau urged canine owners to inquire their veterinarians astir the canine influenza vaccine.

“While the vaccine whitethorn not halt a canine from contracting the microorganism completely, it volition lessen the severity and assistance trim the spread,” the bureau said.

If a canine is diagnosed with canine influenza, it should beryllium separated from different animals for astatine slightest 28 days.

Most dogs retrieve wrong 2 oregon 3 weeks, but immoderate whitethorn make secondary bacterial infections, starring to much terrible illness.

When it comes to people, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said determination are nary reported cases of canine influenza viruses spreading from dogs to people.

WTOP’s Mike Murillo contributed to this report.