Veterinarians say fears about 'mystery' dog illness may be overblown. Here's why
I watched anxiously as my 80-pound doodle trotted off to his regularly scheduled doggy daycare, blissfully unaware that he'd soon be swapping all manner of germs with his buddies.
I wondered, does this constitute a high-risk situation? This was the same small circle of dogs he played with every week, but I had no clue where the others spent their time.
Would he come home with more than a healthy dose of slobber? Maybe, even, a new and poorly-understood pathogen?
Reports of respiratory illness afflicting dogs have put many dog owners like myself on edge in recent weeks.
Social media is filled with increasingly distressing headlines and anecdotes of otherwise healthy pets coming down with a raft of symptoms, everything from a hacking cough to sometimes life-threatening complications.
Most concerning, veterinarians say they're unable to identify what's making the dogs ill and the go-to treatments for canine respiratory illness, generally called "kennel cough," appear to be ineffective.
The list of states with suspected cases of a " has grown to
