Oxfordshire dog owners warning after rare condition kills pet
Shaun Reynolds dog Willow died after picking up Alabama Rot.
A dog owner from South Oxfordshire has been left devastated after one of his two beloved whippets picked up a rare condition on a walk and had to be put down.
Shaun Reynolds first noticed signs of illness on dog Willow's feet: "A sore appeared and her foot was doubling in size every hour."
That turned into an infection which attacked her body, with vets advising to put her down or see a specialist. Shaun decided to try everything he could to safe Willow and took her to the specialist.
She recovered briefly enough to come home, before declining.
It turned out to be a condition called Alabama Rot, which is extremely rare. It's thought animals pick it up from wet muddy woodland areas. It also only seems to appear in the cold damp months, with cases from November to May.
Despite cleaning mud of Willow and his other dog Whisper's feet, Willow still go sick. Whilst Whisper is fine.
Shaun took his pet to a specialist in Alabama Rot.
Joshua Walker is an internal medicine specialist from Anderson Moores veterinary specialists who try to treat this condition.
"It's been seen in the UK since around 2012 and causes skin wounds and legions and in some dogs, it can lead to kidney failure."
Joshua says owners shouldn't be too worried, as cases in the UK are only 324 since 2012. Which is what makes Shaun's case with Willow so unusual.
Shaun thinks Willow may have picked up the infection whilst walking in Berkshire near Lambourn.
RSPCA advice is to wash off all mud following a wet and muddy walk, especially through woodland.
Shaun says personally rather than pet insurance he puts money aside each month for pets care. He even sold his car to help Willow.
He's warning other pet owners, however they chose to, to make sure they're prepared should their pet get sick. "Check what your covered for, even if she was insured it wouldn't have covered the fees."