Look for Signs of Dangerous Leptospirosis in Your Dog

As your local Royal Oak vet, we want to make you aware of a recent outbreak of the dangerous leptospirosis bacteria in Metro Detroit. Recent statistics show that some twenty cases of this life-threatening bacteria have affected dogs in the Motor City area. We strongly advise you to be on the lookout for any symptoms of this dangerous infection as it can be fatal to dogs, and can even be transmitted to humans. While the disease is most commonly carried by rats, it can also be transmitted from one dog to another and from dogs to humans. Pets can become infected by sniffing contaminated urine or by drinking standing water that has been contaminated.

Symptoms to watch for are dog vomiting, dog diarrhea, fever and depression. Keep a close watch as your pet may appear fine one day and become ill the next. If you observe any of these symptoms, bring your dog to our animal vet clinic as quickly as possible so our veterinarian, Dr. Simon can begin immediate treatment.

Our Royal Oak Vet Helps Keep Pets Healthy

The best way to prevent leptospirosis is to bring your dog into our animal vet clinic and have our veterinarian make sure his vaccinations are up-to-date. Even if your dog’s vaccinations are current, you should always be prepared for any emergency.

Check out the emergency preparedness information on our website and make sure you have an action plan in place so you know what to do at home before bringing your pet to Woodside Animal Hospital.

Dr. Simon has authored three books on keeping pets happy and healthy. We have been providing compassionate veterinary care and holistic treatments for over thirty years, and will continue to use this blog and other social media outlets to keep you educated and informed. If you’ve got questions on ailments relating to dogs, cats, birds, rabbits, rodents or ferrets, just send us an email and we’ll be happy to respond.

What pet diseases would you like us to provide more information on in upcoming blogs?