Horror of Alabama Rot dog disease
A dog owner has spoken of her family’s devastation after their treasured pet died from the deadly and mysterious Alabama Rot disease.
Jessie, previously a healthy two-and-a-half-yearold Hungarian Vizsla, was put to sleep less than a week after falling ill at home in Seaham.
Experts later confirmed that she was one of nine new cases nationwide of Alabama Rot – a rare flesh-eating bug which eventually targets blood vessels and kidneys – and the first in this region for 20 months.
While there is no known way of preventing the illness from striking, Jessie’s owners, Becky and David Patterson, have warned owners to take extra precautions after walking their dogs through wet and muddy conditions.
Mrs Patterson, 30, an electrical installation student, said: “It has been an horrendous time for us.
“I had heard of Alabama Rot prior to Jessie getting it.
“But with an estimated 9.9million dogs in the UK and only 207 confirmed cases in this country, you really don't think it would happen to you.
“But it has and it’s been an awful three weeks for our family.”
Mrs Patterson said Jessie initially stopped eating properly on January 17 and was taken to a veterinary surgery the following Monday after she started being sick and developed lesions on her paws and hind legs.
She was eventually put to sleep on January 22, after her kidneys and liver began to fail.
Among the places the family had walked Jessie prior to her illness were nearby Hawthorn Dene and Hetton Lyons Country Park as well as High Force, in Teesdale, and Fountains Abbey, near Ripon.
Mrs Patterson, whose 33-year-old husband is a telecommunications engineer, added: “We don’t know for certain where she caught it. She was part of the family and came everywhere with us.
“What I would say to other owners is find the time after you have taken your dog out in muddy conditions to wash their paws and toes and check for any unusual marks on their skin.”
She added that the couple’s children, Rose, five and Frankie, three, were particularly upset by Jessie’s death.
Tell tale signs include swellings, patches of red skin and open ulcer-like wounds, usually found beneath knees or elbows. Treatment is usually successful in about 20% of cases.