Peter Shokeir | [email protected]
The Jasper Veterinary Clinic is warning of an unidentified canine infectious respiratory disease that is circulating among local dogs.
Most affected dogs have had mild-to-moderate disease that clears in a few days, but a few became more ill and required medication.
On Feb. 12, test results came back to the clinic but could not pinpoint the virus.
“It appears that it is not kennel cough or any of the other respiratory viruses or bacterial infections that were on the panel,” said Dr. Janet Jones, who owns the clinic, in an email.
“The only thing that came back positive was Mycoplasma which can be a normal finding in some animals. We would need to test multiple dogs to say if this was the culprit or not.”
She emphasized that this likely isn’t COVID-19, as infected dogs rarely show clinical signs and are always in a house with a positive human case.
The clinic is recommending rest and monitoring for more severe symptoms, such as reduced appetite, persistent cough, lethargy, or purulent discharge.
Jones said dogs should be socially distant, meaning no close contact, sniffing or playing as well as no dog park.
“The number of cases appears to be tapering off so hopefully another couple of weeks will see the end of this outbreak,” she added.
