Infection
San Pablo woman believes her service dog died of infectious mystery respiratory illness
Nov
Bay Area dogs impacted by mysterious respiratory illness
A woman shares the story of her 12-year-old service dog who died this week due to a mysterious illness. KTVU’s Crystal Bailey reports.
One San Pablo woman said her service dog died this week, and she believes the mystery illness is to blame. Now, she warns other pet owners to be on the lookout.
Tina Marie Silva said one of her service dogs, a 12-year-old Chihuahua named Cookie Monster, started acting strange earlier this week.
Silva thinks it was the mysterious respiratory illness affecting dogs, but vets are having a hard time confirming cases.
The cases are identified by “chronic mild-moderate respiratory symptoms like pneumonia for 6-8 weeks that is not responsive to antibiotics” or “acute pneumonia that rapidly becomes severe and often leads to poor outcomes in as little as 24-36 hours,” according to health officials.
“Unfortunately we have experienced exposure to infectious illness and have closed the Milo Point Richmond Adoption Center for deep cleaning, and will inform you when we are able to reopen. We apologize for any inconvenience,” the animal shelter posted on Facebook.
“Knock on wood, we’re pretty lucky at this moment that we don’t have it here,” said Leslie Riley, a manager at Jelly’s Place in San Pablo.
“We will quarantine it for about 10 – 14 days to make sure that they don’t have any symptoms of anything,” said Riley.
“Right now we have to treat them all like it could be, and we work them up diligently and see how they respond to treatment,” said Dr. Hyder.
“He doesn’t look the same. It’s not the same smile. It’s not the same breathing,” she said, confirming she is planning to take Tahoe to see a doctor.
Dr. Hyder said, “Watch your dog closely and if they show any signs like coughing, nasal discharge, changes in breathing patterns, or sometimes even broad things like loss of appetite or energy levels, well follow up with your vet immediately to get them checked out.”
“The American Veterinary Medical Association is monitoring reports of canine respiratory illness in many states. Illness has been reported, either officially or anecdotally, in the states of Oregon, Colorado, California, Illinois, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Massachusetts, Washington, Vermont, Maryland, Idaho, New Hampshire, and Rhode Island,” said Dr. Rena Carlson, President of the American Veterinary Medical Association (AVMA).
Although there is no vaccine for this mystery respiratory illness, officials said you should keep your dog healthy and fully vaccinated, especially if you decide to board your dog or frequent dog parks.
