STOP THE DOG ROT
Flesh-eating disease on rise
A HEARTBROKEN couple whose dog died of a gruesome disease are warning owners to be on the lookout.
Cathy and Aaron Moss lost their three-year-old cocker spaniel Maggie to flesh-eating Alabama rot. They are now helping raise a quarter of a million pounds to find a vaccine.
Cathy said: “By speaking out and raising money we feel we are doing something positive in her memory.”
Alabama rot, which damages the blood vessels and kidneys, was first detected in the UK in 2012 and has since claimed the lives of 102 dogs.
Symptoms include fever, lethargy and vomiting. Only one in five dogs survive, helped by swift treatment.
Research is being carried out by the Alabama Rot Research Foundation and staff at vets Anderson Moores.
Dental nurse Cathy, 57, said losing Maggie “happened so quickly” days after they went on a new walk in a forest near their home in Bournemouth.
Some people suspect walkies in certain areas may contribute to the OUR vet Brian Faulkner, from Petplan, has 16 years of experience and is a freelance working all over the country. Send your questions to Brian at: Petplan, Great West House, Great West Road, Brentford, Middlesex, TW8 9DX or via Petplan’s Facebook page facebook.com/ PetplanUK. spread. Cathy said: “We went for the walk then noticed she was quieter than usual and had lost interest in her food. Soon she started licking her back paw and we spotted a sore.
“She was put on a drip at the vets. We knew the prognosis was poor. The next morning they told us her kidneys were failing. They couldn’t save her.”
Aaron, 40, an electrical wholesaler, is running the Bournemouth Marathon in October dressed as Scooby Doo in aid of the ARRF. And the couple are even more protective of their new cocker spaniel pup Nellie.
Cathy said: “I’d hate another dog to go through it. Our vet said we couldn’t have done anything. But I want people to know it’s getting more common.”
Dr Huw Stacey, from Vets4Pets, is working with Anderson Moores to research the disease, first found in the US city of Alabama in greyhounds.
They have a map at vets4pets.com, where owners can check for cases.
He said: “The first sign is normally a skin sore on the lower half of the leg. It’s a distinct swelling – a patch of red skin or open and ulcer-like.” MY dog loves sticks and often brings them home. But a mate told me this could be bringing weird diseases into our garden that could harm him?
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