What would you do if you went to your doctor and he diagnosed you with a common cold and recommended that you be “euthanized” because you were sneezing and coughing?
Well, I’d hope that you’d immediately leave his office and realize he or she was a nut job!
As outrageous as the 2 paragraphs are above that is exactly what’s going on within the NY’s ACC-
So what is Kennel Cough?
In “human” terms it’s nothing more than a COLD- (yes) I could throw a bunch of medical terminology at you to confuse even the most experienced but keeping it simple— it’s NOT something to be afraid of…… (Unless of course your living in a bubble and never have had a sneeze or cough before!)
Treatment-
Treatment for KC costs about as much as a bag of dog food! I recently adopted a shelter baby and antibiotics for him were a whopping $21.00 …… It’s HIGHLY TREATABLE and NOT a reason to euthanize or cause this rabid “fear” that I’ve seen going on within threads.
Will your other dogs catch it?
I’m not a vet but I do have 35 years of experience with dogs and can tell you that I have n-e-v-e-r had a dog catch kennel cough from another dog I have adopted. As with “any” cold you take precautions (which you should be doing anyway when adopting). Keep the dogs seperated for the first few days and you should not have any problems.
If you have a “fear” of your dog being exposed to KC then simply keep the dogs apart until you have a couple of days of antibiotics in your new baby’s system….. Most dogs with Kennel Cough are started on antibiotics at NYC ACC so they have already started to do their magic.
Also, IF you have this “fear” of KC then your dog should already be vaccinated for parainfluenza, bordetella and adenovirus-2 which are nothing more than agents known to be associated with KC-
The next time you look at a dog on the to be destroyed list and are “scared” off because his or her bio states they have kennel cough think about all of the times you’ve taken your dog out to the dog park and heard a dog sneeze……. More than likely just by walking your dog you’ve exposed him or her to KC and not even known it…
Kennel Cough is NOTHING to be afraid of and certainly NOT a reason to give a dog a death sentence-
Remember- 20 dollars- for antibiotics, what is that to you? 3 or 4 visits to Starbucks?
LOOK at the Gone But Not Forgotten folders and the next time your ordering your latte remember those faces-
For more information:
http://www.ehow.com/how_2225718_treat-kennel-cough-home.html
http://www.thepetcenter.com/gen/kenc.html
~Milissa Thompson