Similar to canine parvovirus in symptoms, an unidentified illness has been sickening and killing dozens of dogs in Michigan in the past month.
It first appeared in Ostego County but has been spreading through northern Michigan.
In an article in the Clare County Cleaver, Clare County Animal Control Director Rudi Hicks said that the virus is suspected to have come from Louisiana and kills infected dogs within three days of having symptoms.
Hicks said told the Clare County Board of Commissioners that more than 30 dogs have died of the disease just in Clare County as of Thursday. She said it is unknown how the virus spreads.
“They don’t know anything,” she said. “The state is in a panic right now.”
While the symptoms such as vomiting and bloody diarrhea are like Parvo, tests come back negative, so it could be a new strain or something completely different, she said.
Most of the dogs who have contracted the illness have been under the age of 2, said a Facebook post by the Ostego County Animal Shelter, and some of the dogs were vaccinated.
The shelter has been in close contact with veterinarians in Gaylord, Traverse City, Grayling, Mancelona and Indian River trying to find a solution, but there is currently no vaccine or cure.
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Hicks warned pet owners to not take their dogs to parks or on walks and to keep them at home away from other dogs.