Local dog believed to have suffered from mysterious respiratory illness

JOHNSTON, R.I. (WLNE) — A mysterious illness that impacts dogs’ respiratory systems has been spreading throughout Southern New England.

The illness causes infected dogs to cough, sneeze, and have little to no energy.

Whiskey, a 2-year-old boxer, came down with an unexpected illness last month.

“I noticed he got a cough, which is kind of normal going to doggie daycare,” owner Jenna Szlashta-Robbins said.

Whiskey and his owner, Jenna Szlashta-Robbins. (WLNE)

Veterinarians think Whiskey may have been suffering from the mysterious respiratory illness.

University of New Hampshire researchers identified a small portion of the gene of a previously uncharacterized bacteria that may be causing the illness.

“I noticed the cough wasn’t going away and I looked up remedies, I tried honey,” Szlashta-Robbins said. “Everything got worse in two to three days.”

Whiskey was then prescribed an antibiotic after going to the hospital. His owner says that medicine didn’t start working until eight days later.

“I wish they could figure out a cure right now just because I would not want to see another person have their dog as sick as he was,” she said. “I am really happy he is back to normal because that was a really scary patch. Your best friend gets sick and it really stinks. But he is much better now.”