Local experts advise caution as mysterious dog respiratory illness reported nationally

An unusual respiratory illness is afflicting dogs across the U.S., prompting warnings from vets and health departments as families head into the winter travel season.

The Associated Press reported that Oregon, Colorado and New Hampshire are among the states that have seen cases of the disease, which has not yet been named.

After the Oregon Department of Agriculture received more than 200 reports of the illness from veterinarians, the agency put out a statement advising pet owners to use caution and to be on the lookout for symptoms of coughing, sneezing, nasal or eye discharge, and lethargy.

The national American Veterinary Medical Association also warned vets and pet owners about the illness, which they referred to as a “canine infectious respiratory disease.” It cited inflammation of the trachea and antimicrobial- resistant pneumonia as reported symptoms, noting that in some cases, the pneumonia becomes severe in “as little as 24 to 36 hours.”

State-level researchers and the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Veterinary Services Laboratory are investigating the illness, according to the AP. Some dogs have died, but it’s unclear at this time how many have died from a severe form of the illness, because the disease itself hasn’t been pinpointed just yet.

In Western Pennsylvania, some vets and operators of dog boarding or day care centers are keeping an eye on the illness, even though it has not yet arrived on a large scale in our region.

“There is definitely a respiratory virus that is hitting parts of the U.S.,” said Dr. Mellissa Voll-Stouffer, practice co-owner at Ridgeview Veterinary Clinic in the Derry area.

Many patients at her clinic are show dogs, whose owners take them to events around the country, she said.

“We have not seen much of it in this area. What we have seen have been dogs that traveled outside the area and came back,” Voll-Stouffer said. “There were a few of our clients. The ones that I did see, one had been out at a big show in Ohio, and the other had been at a fairly large show in Maryland.”

In most cases, the illness can be fairly mild, but sometimes it can develop into pneumonia, which is more serious, she said. If it reaches that stage, dogs are usually prescribed antibiotics to fight off any secondary bacterial infections.

“The biggest thing with any of the viruses is if your dog is showing any signs of sickness, keeping them at home away from other animals,” Voll-Stouffer said.

Dr. Dave Sherer at Werntz Memorial Animal Hospital in Penn Hills noted he hasn’t seen any cases of the illness in our region, but vets are aware of and discussing it.

He recommends dog owners look for respiratory problems or discharge from their dogs’ eyes, sneezing or coughing or breathing changes. Owners should make sure their pets get all of their scheduled vaccines, too.

“I think the best measures for what people can do for their dogs is keep them protected from other respiratory illnesses to prevent any strain or any other problems with the immune system,” he said. “We don’t know what kind of virus it is, so there’s no specific vaccine or specific treatment, other than supportive care for any secondary bacterial infections that dogs might get.”

New illnesses aren’t very common in dogs, but they do happen, he said.

“I would say it’s unusual in that we don’t see new respiratory infections all the time that we’re not familiar with, but I would say over time, there’s definitely things that show up,” he said. “All the diseases we treat, at some point they were new or started showing up more. It’s kind of the way that it works.”

Dog day cares weigh in

Chloe Boehm, one of the regional managers for The Dog Stop, a national dog boarding, grooming and day care franchise based in Pittsburgh, says the franchise has seen some cases of the illness this year. Some vets previously identified it as a bad case of kennel cough, she said.

Some people canceled their boarding before Thanksgiving because they were worried about the illness. However, the cases aren’t rampant — she hasn’t seen a symptomatic dog at the Dog Stop location in the Strip District in a few months.

If a dog gets sick in any way at a Dog Stop location, the day care has a plan, Boehm explained. The owners are called, and the day care can take the dog to the vet if they are boarding overnight. If they are in day care, the owner can pick up the pet from a quarantine and take them home, and return only when the dog is feeling better.

“If we see symptoms, we try to get the dog out of the building as fast as possible,” she said, noting that the day care also offers in-home services and sanitizes all of its indoor surfaces every day.

Sam Rubin of Walkers Pet HoTail, which has locations in Murrysville and North Versailles, said he has not seen the illness at his kennel yet.

He encouraged owners to keep their dogs vaccinated for other respiratory diseases such as canine influenza, also called dog flu.

The kennel has isolation rooms with negative air pressure to quarantine dogs who are sick, he said.

“If we suspect somebody of having an illness, we also have isolation areas to walk the dogs outside,” he said. “We can accommodate.”