Local veterinarian discusses mystery respiratory illness found in dogs

 

MILWAUKEE (CBS 58) -- This Thanksgiving week, health officials still don't know the cause of the mystery illness attacking the respiratory system of dogs. With travel in high gear, vets hope to equip dog owners with knowledge before they travel to one of the states that's had a burst of cases. 

Illinois and Indiana are two states where cases of the mystery illness are on the rise. In some instances, dogs have died from it, so vets want to be sure families gathering in affected areas are doing so safely for their beloved pets. 

Ten-year-old English Bull dog Bruiser's had been a little under the weather, as he was at the vet clinic. Fortunately, his condition is nothing like the mystery respiratory illness that had owners and vets concerned this Thanksgiving weekend. 

"We do know that it's a very infectious disease and it's spread very easily very similar to lots of respiratory diseases," said Dr. Drew Linklater, Emergency Critical Care Specialist at Blue Pearl Specialty and Emergency Veterinarian Hospital in Glendale. 

So far, the highest concentration of cases has hit eleven states, including Illinois and Indiana, but it seems to be spreading. Dr. Linklater said even Wisconsin has had a few. 

"There are a few reported cases. It seems it's been a little more rampant in other states," said Dr. Linklater. 

A good note: no dogs in Wisconsin have died from the mystery illness, and we were told cats are not affected. It's a topic of conversation that Warnimont Dog Park in Cudahy the night before Thanksgiving. 

"Lucy loves the dog park. She's come here since she was a puppy. She loves to play," said Janet Wunrow, Lucy's owner. 

Janet Wunrow is concerned about her poodle because she has a collapsed trachea. Wunrow is choosing to not use the shared water bowls for now. 

"Open up the cap, it serves as a bowl. While we have very vigilant volunteers here that bring in fresh water every day, there is still the fact that these bowls are not sanitized and things like that," said Wunrow. 

Planning to bring your pup around other dogs for the holiday, vets advise you to keep away from any dog exhibiting symptoms such as coughing, eye or nose discharge, lethargy, and fever. 

What's different about this illness from Kennel Cough? 

"So very often Kennel Cough will start off as something very simple - a cough with a little bit of lethargy that typically resolves in less than a week. This seems to have two different things that are atypical for it. Number one is the symptoms are quite severe. We're seeing dogs develop pneumonia from it and needing to be hospitalized sometimes on oxygen and be quite ill from it," said Dr. Linklater. 

Second, the cough may get better, then days or even months later return even worse. 

"Check with the facility that you're boarding them at to make sure there aren't any outbreaks. We always worry about it a little bit more where there's areas of groups of dogs that are gonna gather together like dog parks, groomers, boarding facilities, that sort of thing," said Dr. Linklater. 

Right now, vets can do routine testing, like a throat or nasal swab for Kennel Cough, Bordetella, even the Flu, but so far, these tests are coming back negative. 

Institutions are trying to figure out what's causing the mystery cough. Sometimes antibiotics seem to help, and sometimes not.