Yet another dog has died from Alabama Rot in Cornwall, bringing the total to three this year and six in the last four years.
Maxwell, a ten-year-old Jack Russell from Mullion, near Helston, contracted the disease back in June, but specialists Anderson Moores only confirmed yesterday that the disease was the cause of the death, according to specialist website Vets4Pets, which has a map of all the cases of Alabama Rot in the UK.
He had been walked around Mullion Cove, Predannack, Polurrian Beach, Polurrian Cove, Gunwalloe and moorland around Mullion by owner Elaine Harrison.
Her daughter's dog, Jango - a dachshund-Jack Russell cross - is also suspected to have contracted the disease and developed lesions, but was saved.
Sadly, Maxwell's condition deteriorated and spread to his kidneys.
Elaine warned other pet owners not to assume that the disease can only been caught in winter months, as current advice indicates most cases are between November and May.
She said: "This was the end of June, nearly July. I know it doesn't add up, but it does because my dog is dead.
"Throughout the winter, without fail, every day I came back and washed them off - I was paranoid about it. Then he picks it up in June.
"Wherever you walk them, if you notice a sore go to the vets. I think ten per cent of dogs that do get it go on a drip early enough and they do survive it, so it's worh looking and just taking them."
Maxwell is the sixth case to be confirmed in Cornwall since 2015, and the third case this year.
Other confirmed cases in the county include one that had been walked at Goonhilly Downs in November last year and at Tehidy Woods in December. In January this year dogs were confirmed to have died from the disease in St Austell and Redruth.
An example of a mouth skin lesion in the dog that died after being walked at Goonhilly last November. Photo: Head and Head Vets
In total, the UK has now seen 189 confirmed cases across 39 counties since 2012, with 52 cases in 2018 and 14 in 2019.
The disease, also known as CRGV (cutaneous and renal glomerular vasculopathy) is caused by damage to blood vessels of the skin and kidney.
It causes tiny blood clots to form in the blood vessels, which blocks them and can ultimately lead to damage of the affected tissue. In the skin, this causes ulceration; however, in the kidney it can lead to severe organ dysfunction (kidney failure).
A skin lesion on the leg of the dog that died after being walked at Goonhilly last November. Photo: Head and Head Vets
A Vets4Pets spokesperson said: "This disease is still very rare, so vets are advising dog owners to remain calm but vigilant, and seek advice from their local vet if their dog develops unexplained skin lesions."
Any concerned owners can find advice and a map of confirmed case in the UK at www.vets4pets.com/stop-alabama-rot/
Comments: Our rules
We want our comments to be a lively and valuable part of our community - a place where readers can debate and engage with the most important local issues. The ability to comment on our stories is a privilege, not a right, however, and that privilege may be withdrawn if it is abused or misused.
Please report any comments that break our rules.
Read the rules here