Local pet-care providers are seeing an unusually high spread of canine infectious bronchitis, or âkennel cough,â among valley dogs this winter, warned Victor Veterinary Hospital owner Dr. Maura Connolly Anderson last week.
Anderson said that normally Victor Veterinary Hospital sees between one and two dozen cases of kennel cough per year, and those are concentrated in the summer when dogs are boarded at crowded facilities, mingling with others from distant lands.
The current, yet-unidentified strain has led to dozens of calls and visits since late 2020; a few cases have even necessitated intensive or emergency care for the infected dogs.
âWe have seen cases amongst neighborhoods, play groups and even just dogs that have visited trailheads and had brief interactions with other dogs,â Anderson said.