What dog owners need to know about the strange pneumonia afflicting canines in N.H.

A mysterious respiratory infection is making its way into some doggy daycares and boarding houses in New Hampshire. It begins with symptoms that resemble kennel cough, a common respiratory infection for dogs, but rapidly progresses to pneumonia, even in healthy dogs.

The cases began at a single dog care facility but have since spread to other organizations in the vicinity, said Dr. Virginia Sinnott-Stutzman told Boston.com after talking to a vet at the Veterinary Emergency Center of Manchester in New Hampshire.

“What I think is most worrying is that their cases in New Hampshire started at a doggy daycare and quickly spread to the surrounding area,” said Sinot-Stutzman, chairman of the MSPCA-Engel’s infection control committee.

Sinnott-Stutzman said MSPCA-Angel employees have yet to see a case, but the potential for it to spread from New Hampshire to Massachusetts is very real. Still, it’s not a cause for panic for dog owners in the Commonwealth, just something to be aware of, Sinot-Stutzman said.

“There is significantly less cause for concern for Boston and Massachusetts dogs, perhaps more so for those that border that area of ​​New Hampshire,” she said.

The area of ​​New Hampshire in question is near Nashua, Milford and Manchester.

Sinot-Stutzman’s advice for dog owners near New Hampshire is simple: Consider pulling your dog from any boarding service, if possible.

“If I was anywhere near that area, I would be saying, ‘You know what, I’m not sold that doggy daycare is so much better for my dog ​​than getting a chew bone and a Kong.. . so I can pull them out. That will be my only move,” he said.

If people are planning to travel to an affected area, Sinnott-Stutzman suggests avoiding climbing animals for any reason, to limit the potential exposure. She said veterinarians in New Hampshire had already treated some of the Massachusetts dogs that were in town.

The illness, which has not yet been identified through testing, presents like kennel cough, Sinot-Stutzman said.

“It’s one of those diagnoses with very classic signs and like a very classic story. Dogs usually cough, and not just like an occasional cough, but like a cough and then it goes on until Self sustains until they are really silent or backed down,” she said.

The dog’s throat is often very irritated and this can lead to a dry cough.

“The thing that makes a diagnosis for us is that this is an otherwise healthy dog ​​with a recent, in the last 10 days, history of exposure to other dogs, usually at boarding or training facilities or daycare, sometimes dogs. Through the parks,” Sinot-Stutzman said. “Like being inside COVID is more likely to spread any kind of infection than being outside.”

Doctors in New Hampshire have begun treating dogs with these symptoms presenting more aggressively than usual, Sinnott-Stutzman said, often recommending chest X-rays to check for any pneumonia. Huh.

“Doctors in New Hampshire think dogs respond to antibiotics. I can’t speak to that because I know viral pneumonia will get better, if it’s going to get better, in about the same amount of time you take antibiotics. drugs will be responsible,” Sinnott-Stutzman said. “I have told my veterinarians to use them until an alternative diagnosis is found.”

Sinnott-Stutzman said that if someone’s pet happens to be sick and they have recently traveled to New Hampshire, owners should share that information with their vet.

“If my dog ​​got sick from it, obviously I would worry that it could become pneumonia,” she said. “And there have been some animals that have died, but they weren’t the healthiest to begin with. So I’d be more like, ‘Okay, we’re ready to go to the hospital now and get fluids and antibiotics. Have to stay.’ And it’s not like, ‘Oh my god, my dog ​​is going to die.'”