"There were just far more coughing dogs coming into the emergency room than in years past," the Section Head of Small Animal Emergency Service at Colorado State University Veterinary Teaching Hospital, Amanda Cavanagh, said.
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While research is still underway, vets are calling the illness highly contagious and, in some cases, fatal.
Most reported symptoms are similar to those of a typical kennel cough, including coughing, sneezing, nasal and/or eye discharge, and lethargy.
"Instead of that dry cough where the dog felt good, it was now this wet cough where the dog felt sick," Cavanagh said.
Cases were first reported in Oregon back in August. The state's Department of Agriculture received over 100 written reports from vets about the illness.
"He's never been sick really of something. We can't explain why he's sick," Clovis dog owner, Hannah Cossa said. "He's a very energetic 6-year-old husky."
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Cossa says her Siberian husky, Maverick, started coughing, reverse sneezing, and had nasal discharge on June 3, just three days after a trip to Oregon.
"About three months into him coughing, he lost all his energy. They told me I couldn't walk him more than a 10-minute walk. We were used to doing six miles a day. He became really depressed, and I got depressed. You could tell the light had gone out of his eyes. He was suffering," Cossa explained.
Cossa says she took her dog to two local vets, who ruled out Valley fever, kennel cough, allergies, and other known viruses and infections.
"The vets in the Valley we went to ended up saying we're kind of out of ideas. We don't know what's going on -- sorry," Cossa said.
The vets then referred Maverick to a specialist in Sacramento, where he was prescribed a human inhaler.
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After two days of using the inhaler, Cossa says Maverick's coughing became less frequent and even stopped.
"He's becoming himself again. The joy is back in his eyes. He's playing again, he's bringing his toys out again. He's going to the dog park, he's able to see his friends again."
Cossa hopes other dog owners talk to their vets about an inhaler if they are struggling to find an answer like she was.
"Let the vet fully evaluate. We can ultrasound the lungs to see if there is a problem that is related to pneumonia or contagious pneumonia that seems to be going around," Cavanagh said.
Experts say that early vet visits can be important to establish a relationship with your veterinarian. They can help you with treatments and then track how the illness can progress.
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