A dog owner has issued a stark warning after her Jack Tsu suddenly fell ill after being taken on a walk through a woods. Owner Lindsay Tong was walking her 10-year-old dog, called Ella, in the Tuetoes forest area of Laughton Woods, North Lincolnshire, last Thursday.
But Ella started vomiting soon after arriving home, prompting Lindsay to take her to the vets for a check up. Despite being sent home with medication, the dog's condition became worse. After being rushed back in, it was discovered the poor dog had harvest mites on her body, causing her to itch, come out in a rash, vomit, be unsteady and have an increased heart rate.
Sign up to our TeamDogs newsletter for your weekly dose of dog news, pictures and stories.
Declaring it as seasonal canine disease, Lindsay now wants to make dog owners across the county aware of the issues in the woods in the hopes it can stop others falling ill. She said the whole experience has made her so scared that she worries Ella may not make it, reports GrimsbyLive.
She said: "I took my dog Ella on Thursday morning for a walk in the Tuetoes forest part of Laughton woods and very soon after returning home she was very restless and couldn’t settle, like something was itching her.
"She also began to vomit quite a few times in the evening. I rang the vets, but they couldn’t see her until teatime the following day [Friday]. Thankfully, she hadn’t been sick anymore and had drank water so I hoped she was over whatever had bothered her.
"They saw her the next day and said she had an allergic reaction to something as she now had a rash on her stomach and they felt this would have caused her to vomit. We were given anti-vomiting and steroid jabs and sent away with antihistamine for her."
After bringing her home, Ella began to perk up a bit, but sadly that was not to last. Lindsay explained: "After we got her home she improved, but then suddenly declined in the morning.
"She was salivating, shaking and very distressed. She wouldn’t walk or move and her tail firmly between her legs so we rushed her back to the vets who kept her in to monitor her.
"We were told she was sick hourly so they gave her IV fluids and antibiotics. They told us that she seemed very poorly, so they now think it is actually seasonal canine disease.
"Her heart rate went worryingly high too so she had to be given painkillers which knocked her out as she was clearly in pain." After the examination, doctors found harvest mites in Ella's skin. These are small bugs which can be found in soil and often cause issues in summer and autumn.
Lindsay said: "We were told they were found between her paws and on one ear. Her entire body is covered in a red rash and her gums have gone bright red.
"I am now terrified that she is not going to be okay and hating myself that I took her for a walk there. We never usually walk in the woods, we stick to the field and the village but thought it would be a nice morning out for the kids and her, a decision I greatly regret.
"I’m crossing everything that she will get through this and the vets will get her better but I’m scared. There were various other dog walkers there when we went too, I just hope they are all okay."
Do you have a dog story to share? Email paige.freshwater@reachplc.com.
