It is with sadness that our veterinary team at Pride Veterinary Centre has had to euthanise a male Labrador called Thornton, who had contracted the rare disease Alabama rot.
Alabama rot was first seen in the UK in 2012 and can affect any breed of dog. There has been lots of speculation about what causes Alabama rot, but unfortunately the underlying causes of the disease have not yet been identified. If contracted, the disease damages the blood vessels in the animals’ skin, spreading to the kidneys, which results in severe renal failure. Unfortunately, 70-80% of cases result in euthanasia.
In many cases Scarsdale Vets and other veterinary practices, have seen the affected dog had walked in muddy woodland areas before showing any symptoms. Therefore we advise owners to wash mud off their dogs as soon as they can after each and every walk, and if they see any signs of illness, to contact their local vet straightaway, as by treating cases early by putting them on an intravenous drip, the worst of the kidney damage can hopefully be avoided.
By raising awareness of Thornton’s case we want to alert pet owners to this disease, which although is still quite rare, can be devastating for owners and their families.