New Virus for Dogs?

Hello Everybuddy:

This morning we received this letter from Monica Segal, a canine nutritionist from Canada that we thought you all should know about.

Newsworthy: Theory Points To New Virus

Some people have heard about it and others haven't. If you're in the latter category - heads up. So far, it's been happening in California and Ohio, but although symptoms are the same, nobody is sure if these dogs have/had the same disease, or what the cause might be. "Symptoms include bloody diarrhea and vomiting, extreme lethargy, neurological problems, a lack of appetite and other maladies.There are countless causes of vomiting and diarrhea in dogs, even bloody diarrhea,” But the illness seen in the past few weeks is markedly different, "What made these cases unique is what the pathologist terms 'acute necrotizing vasculitis.' This is when the blood vessels become suddenly damaged and fluid begins leaking out of the vessels. Because of this, the cases I know of did not just have vomiting and bloody diarrhea, they also developed fluid around their lungs and in the abdomen.” Is this a new disease, a mutation of another virus, perhaps a virus we already know about...? No answers just yet. Everyone is waiting for pathology reports. Based on my experience with dog owners and dogs with all kinds of problems, I think it's fair to say that most people don't rush to the vet at the very first glimmer of a problem. A dog that vomits now and then isn't likely to make us panic. But!- bloody diarrhea, extreme lethargy, or neurological problems should cause us to react quickly at any time, especially in light of this possible virus being the cause, and perhaps even more so if you happen to live in the areas that have been reporting the problem.  Read a news report here. Monica

If you have a concern about this, please contact your vet for further information.

Just passing it on,

Jo, Stella and Zkhat