We at BVC take your health and the health of our staff seriously. While masks are no longer required, we ask that any clients who are not feeling well to please wear a mask when in the facility. Thank you.

Media outlets have been reporting on a current respiratory viral outbreak amongst dogs. At this time, the causative agent of this infection is unknown.

Similar to a ‘kennel cough’, dogs have been presenting to veterinary clinics throughout the country with coughing and lethargy. While many strains of kennel cough do not result in pneumonia, this current strain has a higher risk of causing viral infectious pneumonia. Unfortunately, many affected dogs have had minimal response to antibiotic therapies, with some requiring hospitalization.

As with any virus, each dog will respond differently to infections. Many are expected to improve with little to no medical care needed. Since veterinarians are seeing more severe infections with this strain, however, it is highly recommended to contact your veterinarian and have your pet evaluated if coughing is noted.

At Brilliant Veterinary Care, we always focus our attention on your individual pet and their medical needs. If your dog begins showing signs that include cough, eye or nose discharge, lethargy, or loss of appetite, please contact us to have them evaluated.

To ensure your pet’s safety and limit disease spread, veterinary epidemiologists and immunologists are currently recommending the following isolation protocols:

• limit or avoid time in dog parks
• if your dog needs to be boarded, discuss the boarding facility’s current protocols
• discuss with your groomer their current protocols or consider at-home grooming services (if
  possible)
• do not allow your dog to drink from public dog water bowls
• if your dog does develop a cough, please do not have them interact with other dogs until at
  least 1 week after coughing has resolved

To further protect our patients, symptomatic dogs will be brought directly into a designated exam room when they check in and remain there until check out. Our staff will use PPE (gowns and gloves) when handling sick patients and the room will be thoroughly disinfected before used again.

Veterinary experts are actively working to provide more information on this developing respiratory virus. As more details emerge, we will be happy to answer any questions you have and work together to ensure the health of our beloved pets.

Brilliant Veterinary Care takes its responsibility to clients and patients seriously and we will never turn away an existing client with an urgent need. We ask, however, clients looking to book wellness exams schedule two weeks or more in advance as we have a limited amount of wellness exams available per day so we are better equipped to address urgent and sick patients in need.

Thank you, as always, for trusting BVC for your pet’s care and for your understanding and cooperation.