MILAN, Ill. — As a mystery respiratory illness continues to spread among dogs across the country, one pet business in the Quad Cities area is starting to feel the impact of it.
News 8's Charles Hart visited D.O.G and Friends, a doggy daycare in Milan, to learn more about how they're keeping business running amid growing concerns over the illness.
"It's been crazy," Tonja Wolf-Vick, owner of the daycare, said. "They think it might be a type of bacteria. But they really don't know."
Wolf-Vick is currently operating at half-capacity due to the respiratory illness.
"I usually run about 25 dogs for doggy daycare a day," she said. "We've been running on 11 dogs."
Since October, Wolf-Vick had to close her business twice as dogs started to become sick.
"We thought it was it was kennel cough going around," she said. "Usually when we have kennel cough, we'll shut down for a couple of weeks, you know, let everybody kind of get over it. And then we'll reopen. Well, we did that twice and it just wasn't going away."
One veterinarian in California says symptoms include lack of energy, fever, sneezing and coughing.
"This disease is a novel disease. It has never been seen before," Sarah Strogin with Riverside County Veterinary Medicine said. "Research is being done to determine what the cause of this agent is, but as of right now we do not know."
Wolf-Vick is no longer accepting new clients and is seeing some similarities that have arisen before, and she's worried about how it will affect her business.
"I've actually mentioned that to a couple of my dogs' parents. I was like, 'I hope this doesn't shut us down,'" she said. "We got through 'people COVID,' so I'm really hoping we get through this. Because it's just like COVID ... it's insane."
For now, Wolf-Vick is doing what she can to protect the dogs who visit her every day by increasing her daily cleaning.
"We're doing everything we can," she said. "Our vets even said the same. You know, you're doing what you can, there's really not a whole lot more you can do ... just kind of run its course. And hopefully, that'll be soon."
Concerns about the respiratory illness began in August when the Oregon Veterinary Medical Association (OVMA) published a release.
Here are some precautions recommended by the OVMA that dog owners can take to keep their pets safe:
- Vaccinate your dog as recommended by your veterinarian. This may include vaccinations for canine influenza, Bordetella, and parainfluenza.
- Avoid communal water bowls and toys, and clean these items thoroughly.
- Avoid playdates with unknown dogs. Socialization is important for your dog, so you might consider creating a playgroup of known dogs that are also vaccinated.
- Avoid or limit your dog's exposure to settings with unknown dogs, such as off-leash dog parks.
- If your dog is sick, please keep them at home and seek veterinary care.
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