Dog deaths shock vets in Windsor

 

By Shaun Garrity

 

A virus believed to have killed most of the population of Massachusetts almost 400 years ago is prevalent in Windsor.

European settlers arrived in North America in the 1600s on long wooden freighters with the optimism and initiative to create a new life.

Those ships carried fisherman and traders bearing silk, furs and precious medals. They were not aware they were also carrying rats packing a deadly bacterial infection.

The furry virus-stricken rodents contaminated the land and fresh water and eventually led to an extraordinary number of deaths which almost whipped out the whole community. The illness responsible for the epidemic was Leptospirosis and Windsor veterinarians say they are seeing more than the usual number of cases in the city.

“Oh my god last year, lots in Windsor, I would say forty to fifty,” said AJ Kaler, a veterinarian, at the Central Animal Hospital in Windsor.

In his 20 years of operating with animals he said the number of dog deaths is shocking, his clinic alone has had six dogs die.

Leptospirosis or Lepto, is a corkscrew shaped bacteria that passes to an infected animal through the urine. The most common carriers to spreading the disease are rats, mice and racoons.

“They get it from wild animals when they pee in your back yard,” said Kaler. The dog will then eat the grass or drink water that is contaminated with the urine. When the virus begins to enter the dog’s blood stream you have a week or less before it turns fatal.

Kim Riberty said her Pit-bull named De Niro contracted Lepto because of the new garbage law that states every person must have covers for each garbage container, which has been implemented to stop the population of rodents.

“It was terrible,” said Riberty.“You can’t avoid rats, rats are everywhere, they come out sometimes in the day, it was inevitable he was going to come in contact with it.”

De Niro was one of the 50 dogs to die last year in Windsor and Riberty said the symptoms were rapid.

“He looked just sad and really lethargic and he looked like he lost weight in 24 hours, I’m thinking what the hell is going on,” said Riberty.

The shelter operation manager at the Humane Society in Windsor said dogs are not the only ones that can be infected.

“It can be spread to humans,” said Rachel Dotermann.

In 2010, Olympic five-time gold medalist Andy Homles died of Lepto after falling in contaminated water during a marathon.

This disease is deadly among humans and animals and the best way to prevent it from happening, is to simply get dogs vaccinated. Vaccinations range from $80 to $100. Dotterman and Kaler suggested vaccines for all dogs.  Both said if pet owners believe a dog is showing signs of sickness, medical attention is in the owner’s best interest.

 

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