record pets.

Don’t talk rot about disease

LAST Saturday brought the tragic news that a dog was suffering from Alabama Rot and was fighting for his life.

This terrible condition was first diagnosed in racing greyhounds in the US in the 80s but did not appear in the UK until 2012.

Since then, about 200 cases have been seen in Britain with only one being a greyhound and this is just the second case in Scotland. The condition has occurred in a range of breeds, with no age or weight predilection. There have been 30 confirmed cases in Labradors, 16 in English Springer Spaniels and 11 in Cockers. South-west England is the worst affected area and most cases occur between November and April.

Alabama Rot is more properly called cutaneous and renal glomerular vasculopathy (CRGV) and belongs to a group of diseases known as thrombotic micro-angiopathies. Ulcerative lesions on the limbs, belly and mouth occur, with many patients going on to develop anaemia and kidney disease.

The disease process is complicated but essentially lots of little thrombi (clots) are formed, which block small arteries, starving the tissue of oxygen, so that cellular death occurs. Red blood cells are also destroyed inside and outside the blood vessels.

With treatment, cases involving only the skin usually survive, although recovery can take months. Unfortunately, the prognosis for dogs that develop severe renal failure is not so good.

And that’s probably why we saw the best and worst of social media over the weekend as the news spread. The expressions of hope and good wishes for the patient from all quarters were gratifying indeed. I am sure his owner was heartened.

But then came the nonsense, with some claiming he had already died, the cynical questioning whether it was all just a way of businesses “sharing” and others pontificating about the cause of the disease, which remains unknown.

And, of course, the environment in which he was walked was questioned, with owners determined to stay away, despite his being the only case out of many thousands of dogs that had been exercised there for decades.

I do understand that Alabama Rot is alarming. I get it that people want to be cautious. But please don’t forget that hundreds more dogs die in road traffic accidents, from parvovirus and leptospirosis than ever contracted CRGV.

I write this in the memory of a dog who fought valiantly. I know he will not be forgotten.