The mysterious respiratory illness affecting dogs across the United States is showing up in Fayetteville, with several dog owners and at least one animal hospital reporting suspected cases in recent weeks.
Of the seven animal hospitals CityView surveyed in the Fayetteville area Monday, one — Central Animal Hospital — reported having treated a couple of dogs that had symptoms matching the mystery illness. Cases have already been reported in other parts of the state, with dozens of dogs in Cary having been diagnosed with the illness since Thanksgiving, according to local news reports.
The mystery illness, officially referred to as canine infectious respiratory disease complex (CIRDC), is characterized by a bad cough that lasts for six weeks or longer and isn't normally helped by a course of antibiotics; other symptoms include sneezing, nasal or eye discharge, lethargy, breathing difficulty, fever and a loss of appetite.
Dr. Meredith Garringer, the shelter veterinarian for Cumberland County Animal Services, said the county shelter had not seen any cases resembling the illness, but staff are monitoring the situation.
“We continue to monitor our shelter animals and provide treatment as needed for any illnesses,” Garringer said in an email to CityView. “So far, we have not had any dogs with upper respiratory illnesses that have not responded to treatment.”
Unlike the typical “kennel cough” that has a recovery period of seven to 10 days, dogs with the new mystery illness can also be sick for months, leaving veterinarians — who are still scrambling to understand and come up with treatments for the puzzling sickness — lacking resources to handle the influx of cases.
There is no definitive test for CIRDC, not least because it may be a result of more than one pathogen. Veterinarians can, however, rule out other known illnesses with negative test results for those pathogens.
“Since the mystery illness is due to an unknown cause, it would not show up on the available tests,” Garringer said.
Multiple fatalities have been reported in canines thought to have the illness, though most dogs with it make a full recovery.
Most worryingly to pet parents, the infection can also progress easily into acute pneumonia, which can lead to “poor outcomes” in two to three days, according to the American Veterinary Medical Association.
Such was the case for Fayetteville resident Missy Elskamp Mercer, whose 9-year-old Chihuahua, Leo, died four days after getting sick with a suspected case of CIRDC. After showing initial symptoms, the dog appeared to be recovering, so she didn’t take him to the vet immediately.
“We truly believed he was on the mend, he was eating some, drinking, using the bathroom, and even wanted to run outside some,” Mercer said.
Leo’s condition, however, abruptly took a turn for the worse. After showing symptoms on a Saturday night, he passed away in his sleep early Wednesday morning.
“It was fast and took Leo without us really knowing what was happening,” Mercer said.
Mercer noted that Leo had been a healthy dog prior to getting the illness and was up-to-date with vaccinations. She had rescued him five months prior to him getting sick.
“He was vaccinated and while with us, seemed happy, healthy, and full of life,” she said.
Fayetteville resident Brittany Sitzler has a 10-year-old dog, Noel, also a Chihuahua rescue, who was sick for over a month with suspected CIRDC before the dog finally recovered from her illness. Her veterinarian was able to rule out kennel cough because Sitzler’s dog had not had any contact with other dogs, but at the same time ultimately “didn’t know what was wrong with her.”
Sitzler said Noel, while sick, dealt with constant coughing and lethargy.
“She got to the point where she didn't even get out of bed to drink water, because as soon as she moved, she would start coughing, going up the steps,” Sitzler said. “So she was just constantly out of breath, constantly coughing. She would just lay there, and it was really sad. You could see her really trying to catch her breath with the cough, but she was extremely lethargic.”
After trying various medications, including two different antibiotics and cough medicine, Noel finally recovered with the second round of antibiotics and a steroid cough medicine. She credits the dog’s recovery with trial and error of different medications.
“But towards the end, after that first ten days, that was when she kind of started slowing down, which I think — if we wouldn't have switched it — it would have gotten worse,” she said.
Garringer suggests anyone whose dog is experiencing symptoms make a trip to the vet and follow their provider’s guidance.
“I advise owners to follow the guidance of their veterinarian and for their animal to be up-to-date with their vet,” Garringer said. “An animal should see their vet at least once a year.”
Sitzler suggests dog owners “speak up” about the illness, even if it seems to be nothing out of the ordinary.
“Just take your dog to the vet, even if you think it's kennel cough, because we thought so, and it's just going to get worse,” Sitlzer said. “So I would just take them.”
Contact Evey Weisblat at eweisblat@cityviewnc.com or 216-527-3608.
