This is heartbreaking.
Pet owners are being warned to vaccinate their dogs after six have died in the past eight days due to a deadly virus.
There has been an outbreak of the parvovirus – an extremely contagious disease – in Limerick. Six out of 11 dogs who contracted the disease have died.
Dr Kathy Enright, from Clare Street Vets in Limerick told Independent.ie: “All cases are from inner city Limerick, where they exercise their pets on the communal green and surrounding areas.”
The city vet said that it was contracted by dogs who had not been vaccinated, or their vaccinations lapsed. In these cases, it can spread like “wildfire.”
“It’s caused by contact with a dog that is in the ‘shedding’ phase of the disease, so in contact with them directly or their feces or vomit, and spread by anything contacting that like birds or vermin. It’s like the flu virus in people.”
Dr. Enright noted that if a pet comes in and has lost too much blood, fluids and electrolytes, then there is a 90 percent chance that the pet will die.
She noted that the symptoms are lethargy, severe vomiting, loss of appetite and bloody, foul-smelling diarrhea.
