HIT BY KENNEL COUGH OUTBREAK
DOG owners are being warned of an outbreak of an infectious disease that can make their furry friends sound like they are choking.
Just like Covid, kennel cough can be vaccinated against to reduce severity but doesn’t stop dogs from catching it.
Last Friday, Arundel woman Emily Rose Brown noticed her finnish lapphund was “coughing and hacking” like she had something stuck in her throat.
“She did have a bone the night before so I assumed she had a bone fragment stuck,” Ms Brown said.
Eevie the dog was taken to the vet after the coughing continued, despite her still being able to eat and drink.
Ms Brown said she was surprised when the vet diagnosed her dog with kennel cough.
Also known as canine cough, it is an infectious disease that affects the respiratory system, but doesn’t usually result in a serious condition.
It is caused by many different viruses that can be picked up at dog parks and boarding kennels.
“I was astounded, I was just thinking where did this come from. I thought she was vaccinated.
“But just because dogs are vaccinated doesn’t mean they’re not going to get it.”
Ms Brown said she was surprised to discover there were no resources available to warn others about kennel cough cases in their community.
She suggested the Gold Coast City Council could install signs at public areas where known cases had visited or create an online database of exposure sites.
“It’s like Covid at the moment, it’s hard to contact trace to find out where they got it from,” she said.
“The council have probably got limited resources and it’s probably not high on their priority list, but pet wellbeing is a high priority for owners.”
The Point Vet’s Dr John Rigley said there had been an outbreak of kennel cough in South East Queensland.
He attributed this to increased rates of pet ownership and less frequent travel due to Covid.
“A lot of the time, kennel cough sounds like a dog with something stuck in its throat,” Dr Rigley said.
“If it does have that sound to it don’t take your dog out, stay at home and avoid other coughing dogs if you can.”