Dear Friends, Some of you have heard about the Canine Influenza and have been asking about it. It has been around since 2004 but it has avoided Virginia until the last part of July 2009 when it showed up in Northern Virginia.  It shut down the Fairfax Animal Shelter for two weeks. Here is a quick run down on it. It started with the racing greyhounds in Florida in 2004, mutating from horses. It traveled around with the races with some areas being harder hit than others. Since it is new to dogs, they do not have any natural immunity to it so that means that all dogs that are exposed to it will be infected. 80% of those will show symptoms. The most common symptom is a cough that persists for 10-21 days despite treatment. Many dogs will also have a nasal discharge that has pus in it and a low-grade fever. Some dogs are more severely affected with signs of pneumonia such as a high fever (104-106) and increased respiratory rate and effort. The mortality is around 5%. There is a vaccine available that was given provisional approval in May 2009. It may not prevent infection but may significantly reduce the severity and duration of the illness. At this time, we are not requiring the vaccine but we are highly recommending that you talk to your vet about getting it. If the disease continues to spread, then we will have to require that you get your dog vaccinated before coming. The important thing to remember is if your dog starts coughing, call your vet and do not bring it to us. The vaccine is a series of two shots given two to four weeks apart so it will take two to three weeks to get the full benefit of the vaccination. Below are some links to some more information about the canine flu. You can also google it and find some more information. If you have any questions that I may be able to help you with, please feel free to call me at 540-439-7297. Sincerely, Mary Ann Robertson Liberty Hill Pet Resort http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/08/14/AR2009081403307.html?hpid=moreheadlines http://www.cdc.gov/flu/canine/ http://www.avma.org/public_health/influenza/canine_bgnd.asp