Category: News

Vaccine for New H3N2 Dog Flu May Be on the Way

Thanks to researchers at Kansas State University, a vaccine for the epidemic H3N2 canine flu virus, which has now spread to 13 states across the country, may be developed.

A case of the flu was reported in Minnesota today. The H3N2 virus has already been confirmed in Illinois (more than 1,500 dogs have been infected in the Chicago area), Alabama, California, Georgia, Indiana, Iowa, New York, Massachusetts, Michigan, New Jersey, Texas and Wisconsin.

Most at risk for becoming infected with H3N2 are puppies, older dogs and dogs with weakened immune systems. While most dogs recover within 10 to 30 days, some have developed serious issues, such as pneumonia. Six dogs have died from H3N2.

There is currently a vaccine for another strain of dog flu, the H3N8 virus, but it’s not known if it is effective against this new strain.

Before dogs became sick in the Chicago area, H3N2 had never been reported in the United States, but there have been outbreaks in China and South Korea since 2006. H3N2 is believed to have been brought to the U.S. by a dog from Asia, or a dog who visited Asia and became infected.

Today Kansas State Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory officials announced that the H3N2 research they’ve been conducting has given them new insight into this strain. They will now be able to test dogs specifically for H3N2, and their findings may lead to the development of a vaccine.

“We can perform hemagglutinin and neuraminidase gene sequencing — the H and N portions of the strain — on a sample that is positive for canine influenza,” Ben Hause, an assistant professor of diagnostic medicine and pathobiology, said in a news release.

“This gene sequencing will allow us to compare how close of a genetic match the virus in the sample is to other canine influenza isolates and provide important epidemiological information, allowing us to track how the virus is evolving in dogs.”

This discovery is important for designing a vaccine and determining if the virus is mutating, Hause said.

The test for the H3N2 virus is currently only available at the KSU Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory, but its availability will likely grow as the flu continues to spread.

Click here for tips on preventing your dog from getting the H3N2 virus.

Photo credit: bazusa

 

Dog Belonging to Missing Texas Family Found Alive in Tree

The four-legged member of a Texas family swept away by floodwaters has been found alive.

Maggie, a yellow Lab, was rescued Sunday after a resident spotted her in a tree near the Blanco River in Wimberley, the Statesman reports.

Maggie belongs to the McComb family of Corpus Christi, who were spending Memorial Day weekend with eight other people in a house on the Blanco River when the devastating flooding occurred Saturday night.

Jonathan McComb was rescued, but his wife, Laura, and their two young children, Andrew and Leighton, are still missing, along with the others who were staying in the house.

Laura called her sister, Julie Shields, about 1 a.m. Sunday, Shields told KVUE. She said she was in a house floating down the river.

“Tell mom and dad, ‘I love you,’ and pray,” she told Shields.

Jonathan told Shields everyone had been holding hands inside the house, which broke off its wooden stilts and was swept down the raging river. When the house struck a bridge and broke apart, Jonathan was separated from the others.

Rescue crews found him on a riverbank several miles from where the house once stood. He suffered a collapsed lung, and broken sternum and rib, and is being treated at a San Antonio hospital.

“He is absolutely devastated,” Shields told KVUE. “He did everything he possibly could to save them.”

With the assistance of FEMA’s Texas Task Force One, crews are using search-and-rescue dogs, infrared technology, drones and boat squads in the effort to find those still missing. Kiii News reported today that 22 volunteer teams comprised of 250 people are also assisting in the search effort.

[UPDATE: Tragically, the bodies of Laura and Andrew have been found. Four-year-old Leighton is still missing.] 

Angela Clendenin, a spokeswoman for the Texas A&M Veterinary Emergency Team, said finding Maggie alive was “just amazing.”

“It’s just a good part of that story,” she told the Statesman.

Here’s how you can help animal shelters affected by the severe weather in Texas.

Photos via Facebook; Twitter

Boiiing! Dog Uses Trampoline to Escape Yard and Follow Dad to Work

Thomas McCormack of Scotland was surprised, to say the least, one morning when his dog, Paddy, showed up on the train McCormack takes to work.

“The next thing I know Paddy comes in and sits on the seat next to me,” McCormack said, according to the Telegraph. “I was shocked. He just looked at me as if he was saying, ‘Where are you going?'”

Paddy, a 4-year-old Collie/Lab mix, had been left in McCormack’s backyard, which is surrounded by a 6-foot-high fence. So how did he manage to escape?

McCormack’s neighbors solved the mystery. They told him they had seen Paddy bouncing on a trampoline and leaping over the fence. That also explained why Paddy sometimes greeted his dog dad on the front porch, McCormack said.

“He’s bouncing on the trampoline with the kids all the time — that’s where he must have learned it,” he said. “He’s a clever dog.”

McCormack said Paddy had probably previously tried unsuccessfully to follow his dog dad’s scent in the morning.

“That morning he obviously caught me,” he said. “I had to take him to work. Obviously he’s a new start.”

As for the trampoline, it’s been moved away from the fence.

 

Johnny Depp Could Spend 10 Years in Jail for Smuggling Dogs into Australia

APRIL 17, 2016 UPDATE: The dog smuggling charges against Johnny Depp’s wife, Amber Heard, were dropped today.

It was pretty harsh when Australia’s Agriculture Minister Barnaby Joyce announced that the two Yorkshire Terriers Johnny Depp sneaked into the country earlier this month would be euthanized if they weren’t “buggered off back to the U.S.,” as Joyce put it.

Depp, who is filming another sequel to “Pirates of the Caribbean” on the Gold Coast, apparently thought he could get around Australia’s pet quarantine laws last month by flying his Yorkies, Boo and Pistol, into the country and hiding them in a handbag at the airport.

The contraband canines were discovered when an assistant took them to a groomer, who posted their photos on social media.

Like many countries (and Hawaii), Australia has strict quarantine laws for imported pets in order to prevent the spread of diseases like rabies. People traveling with their dogs must first apply for a permit. The length of the quarantine period varies; in Australia, it’s a minimum of 10 days.

Joyce’s threat to have Boo and Pistol killed made international headlines and sparked the social media campaign #WarOnTerrier. Nearly 22,000 people signed a Change.org petition urging the agriculture minister to spare the dogs’ lives.

On May 15, Depp’s wife, Amber Heard, flew back to California with Boo and Pistol on the private jet.

But Depp may still have to pay a harsh price (besides the cost of all that expensive jet fuel) for trying to sidestep Australia’s quarantine laws.

During a senate hearing yesterday at the Parliament House in Canberra, government officials decided that if the case goes to court, the actor could face up to 10 years in prison or a maximum fine of $340,000, the Sydney Morning Herald reports.

The pilot of his private jet is also facing up to two years in prison for not declaring the dogs.

“The dog thing — we’ll get that out of the way quickly,” said a member of the Rural and Regional Affairs and Transport Committee at the beginning of the meeting, according to the Herald.

Last night, Depp and Heard flew back to California (yep, on their private jet) to celebrate the 16th birthday of Depp’s daughter, Lily-Rose, the Brisbane Times reports.

Neither Depp or Heard has publicly commented on the case.

Photo via Twitter

Good Cops! Watch Police Officers Rescue Dog from Raging Colombia River

When police officers saw a dog being swept away in Colombia’s Liboriana River earlier this week, they wasted no time in saving his life. Their heroic actions were captured on video.

Torrential rainstorms in the Salgar area resulted in the raging river as well as mudslides that have killed more than 60 people. This is Colombia’s worst disaster of its kind in 10 years, according to news reports.

As the dog was pulled down the river, smashing into rocks and debris, the officers ran alongside him on the rocky river bank, shouting in Spanish, “Jump in, jump in!” When they were finally able to get ahead of him, one of the officers, risking his life, waded into the river and grabbed the unconscious dog. He carried him safely to shore under his arm.

Back on land, the officers gave the dog CPR while one of them gave him mouth-to-mouth resuscitation.

Thanks to these heroes, the dog gained consciousness and was even able to stand up. The officers carried him to their truck and administered IV fluids.

Although the dog did suffer some injuries, he is expected to make a full recovery.

“The courage and training of our Carabineros helped save a dog who fell into the murky waters,” wrote the Colombia Ministry of Defense on its website. “His life is most important to us, so we did not hesitate to rescue him and bring him to safety.”

The officers have named the lucky dog Principe (Prince). If no one claims him, he will become an honorary K-9 officer.

“Por tu bienestar, nuestra labor. Por una vida TODO,” Policía Nacional de los Colombianos wrote on its Facebook page Wednesday. Loosely translated, that means, “Our work for your well-being. For ALL lives.”

Photos via YouTube; Facebook

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