LAPUSH — An apparent outbreak of a highly contagious animal disease has a Forks veterinarian warning people to update their dogs’ vaccines.
In the past few weeks, five dogs in LaPush that all showed symptoms of canine distemper have either been euthanized or found dead, and more have been treated by Dr. Ed Feldewert at Forks Animal Hospital.
“It’s been down in LaPush for years, but not this bad for a while,” Feldewert said Tuesday.
So far, no cases have appeared within the Forks city limit, Feldewert said.
The disease poses no known risk to humans.
The vaccine for canine distemper is among the standard shots dogs receive, and pets that get their shots regularly should be protected from the disease, Feldewert said.
But those dogs that have not been vaccinated can contract the disease from other dogs or wildlife, and pass it to other animals, Feldewert said.