Encinitas-based veterinarian warns pet owners of unusual increase in dogs with mystery illness

A local veterinarian is warning pet owners after seeing an unusual increase in the number of sick dogs that are being treated at their clinic.

Dr. Kristi Leslie, DVM, has worked at the Drake Center for Veterinary Care in Encinitas for one year. She told NBC 7 that in the past few months, and even more so in the past few weeks, there has been a multitude of dogs coming in with the same symptoms.

“We have been seeing an unusually high number of severe upper respiratory infections in dogs in our area,” Dr. Leslie said. “Sometimes it’s up to five, maybe more, patients a day presenting similar symptoms.”

The symptoms include a cough and nasal discharge. It may sound like the well-known kennel cough, however, she added that it is not yet clear what exactly the illness is.

“At this time we have been unable to isolate the primary cause for this,” Leslie said, as she explained their work alongside other animal hospitals and laboratories to pinpoint whether it is viral or bacterial, among other things.

Most of the dogs received antibiotics and cough suppressants, but there have been a small number of severe cases.

“Occasionally a few of these patients have needed critical care intervention so we have sent them away for hospitalization and that supportive care that they need,” she said.

One of the other common denominators among four-legged patients is their recent activity, including trips to the dog park, dog beaches, groomers and more.

“A lot of them are coming from places of high volumes of dogs,” Leslie said.

NBC 7 visited a dog park in Encinitas and spoke with Claire Romero, who owns a Great Dane named Willow. Romero explained she believes Willow might have had the illness Leslie is referring to.

“She got a cold. She was really congested. It was a couple of weeks ago and she had like yellow snot coming out of her nose and just like coughing,” Romero said. “We could hear her when she was sleeping in the morning just breathing. Like you could hear it down in her lungs.”

Willow was able to recover within a couple of days without needing to visit the veterinarian. Thankfully, according to Leslie, all of the dogs that she knows of who have been treated for this mystery illness lately have made a full recovery. She also noted it is not impacting other furry friends in multi-pet homes, like cats.

"I don't want people to panic. I don't want them to upheave their whole life with their dog, their routine, their future plans, but we do recommend that they stay up to date on vaccinations and I would consider avoiding large groups of dogs for the next few weeks, if that's possible for your family, just while this hopefully dissipates," Leslie said.

Leslie encourages anyone who is concerned their dog may be experiencing this illness to visit their veterinarian.