Baytown shelter experiencing outbreak of kennel cough cases, city confirms

BAYTOWN, Texas (KTRK) -- The City of Baytown Animal Services is experiencing multiple cases of kennel cough, a contagious respiratory disease in dogs, that has forced the facility to limit their services as they work to treat the canines and prevent additional cases.

The shelter initially reported it as a canine respiratory illness.

A spokesperson from the city said around 30 canines are responding well to treatment for symptoms like cough and added that no dogs have died as a result of the sickness.

The cases in Baytown come as veterinarians across the county warn of a rise in a mystery illness that causes symptoms like coughing, sneezing, and tiredness at extreme levels.

In an update on Friday, officials identified the sickness in Baytown as kennel cough, not the respiratory illness that was reported in other areas. The chief medical officer at the Houston SPCA explained why the new illness had been difficult for doctors to pinpoint.

Dr. Roberta Westbrook said dogs initially come down with symptoms similar to kennel cough, but their tests don't come back positive for well-known illnesses.

"It seems to be more severe," Westbrook said before the disease was identified as kennel cough. "The thing that is making veterinarians worried is that sometimes these animals are testing negative for the most common viruses we would expect to be causing these symptoms."

She said the SPCA isn't experiencing a rise in respiratory cases, nor does she believe there's a widespread outbreak in Southeast Texas.

She added that people with dogs in our area don't need to worry but urged owners to get their four-legged friends up-to-date on all vaccinations.

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