Kirkcaldy woman urges dog owners to be vigilant as mystery virus floors puppy

Amy Kirkpatrick (23) first noticed that something wasn’t right with her cavapoo pup, Dave, in the weeks leading up to the festive season.

She said: “He wasn’t himself a few weeks before Christmas - he is usually a typical boisterous puppy that is always full of beans.

“It was minor things that I noticed first. He was really sleepy, off his food, and not following me around like he usually does – I was quite worried.

"I took him to the veterinary practice and they said to me that they had seen a few cases like Dave, and said that his treatment would be trial and error to see what would work.

“They started him on a probiotic paste, antibiotics, and to feed him on a strict bland diet of chicken and rice then told me to bring him back after the New Year.”

Amy hoped the puppy would recover quickly, but as the New Year came he was still unwell.

"He has been constantly back and forward to the vets, and at points there looked like there was light at the end of the tunnel only to end up back at square one.

"After the second round of treatment Dave became very ill,” Amy said. “Blood was pouring out of him, he was squealing in pain, and had a high temperature – it was absolutely heartbreaking to see him like that.

"The vet took fecal and blood samples and it all came back as normal and healthy. They were at a loss to what was causing this, and said that it is basically an unknown sickness and diarrhea virus and he would have to ride it out.”

Although the vets were at a loss , Amy said that she couldn’t thank them enough for everything they have did.

"The staff at Albavets have been amazing in the care that they have given Dave, I really don’t know what I would have done without them.

"Dave is the love of my life, he is my best friend and I love him so much – he has helped me through some of the toughest times of my life.

"I want to raise awareness about this unknown virus and urge people to take their pets to the vet if they see even a slightest change in their behaviour.”

Tom Henderson, clinical director at Albavet, said: “We have seen a surge in gastroenteritis in dogs in the last 24 months throughout the UK.

"We don’t know what exactly causes it, and all we can say that it is likely to be a certain strain of virus but we can never be 100 per cent.

"Things owners should look out for include, prolific vomiting of five or more episodes in a 12 hour period, unable to keep water down, anorexia and lethargy, and diarrhoea lasting for several days.

"If your dog is experiencing any of these symptoms you should take it to see a vet.”

Thank you for reading this article on our free-to-read website. We're more reliant on your support than ever as the shift in consumer habits brought about by Coronavirus impacts our advertisers.

Please consider purchasing a subscription to our print newspaper to help fund our trusted, fact-checked journalism.