Raleigh, N.C. — There is a mysterious and severe case of pneumonia affecting dogs, and some veterinarians are already seeing it in Raleigh.
It’s impacting how vets are accepting new dogs for boarding.
Doctors are still trying to figure out what it is. At Care First Animal Hospital at Oberlin, they see 15-20 dogs per day with the infection.
With the Labor Day holiday weekend approaching, some boarding facilities are being careful.
Upper-respiratory diseases are common in shelters because dogs that come in aren’t usually vaccinated.
“Late spring [and] early summer, we did have a few severe cases, but that has calmed down,” said Wake County Animal Center animal services director Dr. Jennifer Federico. “So now, we’re not seeing that as much in our world.”
Federico said private practices are now the ones seeing this kind of infection more.
“This one seems pretty scary because of how sick the dogs are coming in,” said Care First Animal Hospital’s Dr. Page Wages.
Since May, Care First Animal Hospital has seen 450 dogs with pneumonia. In the last two or three weeks, they’ve seen about 20-50 dogs with a more severe case.
“The scary thing is the dogs with this pneumonia,” Wages said. “Some dogs are dying from it …
“It’s young dogs. It’s dogs [that are] a year or 2 years [old]. We have one right now that’s at a hospital that probably won’t survive. It’s really sad.”
An X-ray of a dog with pneumonia shows the animal’s lungs fully infected.
Dogs who are more active with other dogs are at a higher risk.
Symptoms include:
- A runny nose
- Cough
- Diarrhea
- Eye discharge
Wages said they’re being extra careful boarding dogs because the infection can spread easily.
“[If they are] coughing [and] sneezing, they cannot come in the kennel,” Wages said. “Just people that want to board their dogs that are sick, just please don’t board them here or any other place it’s just going share it to other dogs.”
Doctors encourage pet owners to keep their dogs away from other dogs for a couple of weeks until the infection dies down. Also, doctors recommend dogs stay up to date with their vaccines.