The vet treated a puppy diagnosed in April with a new strain of the illness. Now there is concern that more animals could be infected.
Jim and Linda Lucas bought Katie, a 13-week-old west highland terrier, in April.
The couple purchased the dog to replace another dog that died that same month, stomped to death by deer.
"We were just broken-hearted," Linda Lucas said. "She was such a part of our life."
The couple combed the Internet looking for another dog. When she found one, she believed they were getting a healthy westie puppy from a responsible breeder.
"She had just a little bit of a wheeze. … Nothing that triggered any real concern at the time," Linda Lucas said. "(We) mentioned it to the person we bought her from, and she said, 'Well, I think that will pass.'"
Within days, the couple brought the dog to a local veterinarian. Dr. Jodi Houser believed the dog suffered from kennel cough.
But the dog didn't respond to treatment.
"Her cough had turned from that dry hacking cough to a moist cough," Houser said. "You could feel a little rattling in her chest."
Houser ordered a series of the lab tests, which revealed the dog had the H3N2 strain of canine influenza, a contagious respiratory virus that can sicken and even kill dogs and cats.
The disease made headlines in April after about 1,000 dogs in Chicago contracted the virus, USA Today reported. But now the virus is popping up in other states, including Alabama, California, Texas, Massachusetts, New York, Wisconsin, Michigan, New Jersey, Iowa and Indiana, according to a report by Cornell University's Animal Health Diagnostic Center.
Houser said countless clients have asked about the illness after the outbreak in Chicago.
"I never suspected that I would get a positive on that test, so when I did I kept looking at it to make sure that's what it was," she said.
Turns out the woman the couple got their dog from is not a breeder. She had purchased the dog from an Amish breeder.
Houser said she fears other dogs and puppies in Ohio could be infected.
"This is … a large breeding facility, and we don't know where all these puppies have gone," Houser said.
The Lucas' dog is slowly recovering, but they worry other dogs may not be so lucky.
"Check the person you're buying the dog from," Linda Lucas said. "Pin them down and make them tell you, are they the breeder? Are they a broker? You know, where is this puppy coming from?"
The H3N2 strain of canine flu emerged in Asia between 2006 and 2007.
The virus can spread quickly among dogs and even cats.
There is no vaccine, and many vets don't test for it.相关的主题文章：


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