Dog owners are being warned about an illness that has seen hundreds of dogs struck down with symptoms.
Hundreds of dogs fell ill across Yorkshire and the UK last week and there are fears that cases could escalate over the next week.
The illness is thought to have come from the North Yorkshire coast where people reported having walked their dogs on beaches, Yorkshire Live reports.
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Pet owners were urged to avoid beaches after Facebook posts shared from veterinary practices expressed concerns over recent incidents.
Reports of dogs becoming ill with gastroenteritis-like symptoms have now began to come from inland.
However, speaking to BBC Radio 4’s PM programme, the British Veterinary Association President Dr Justine Shotton said there was not enough evidence to speculate on the reasons for the spike in cases and advised owners not to panic.
Dr Shotton said: “We are aware of a recent spike in cases of dogs falling ill from gastroenteritis-like symptoms in several parts of Yorkshire and North East England. Vets see gastroenteritis cases relatively commonly in practice, but numbers seem to be increasing and more widespread than usual.
“At this time, we can't speculate on what might be causing the symptoms, and there is currently no evidence to suggest a direct link between the illness and the dogs visiting the beaches.
"We’ve heard reports from vets in the area who are really far inland and they are also seeing an increase in these kinds of cases in dogs that have never been to the beach, so I’m not sure yet if we have enough information to make that link.
“With gastroenteritis, most cases are mild, but some dogs may need hospitalisation with a drip. In the worst situations, it can become haemorrhagic leading to secondary complications or even death, but that is very rare.”
Pointing to a possible seasonal link to the cases, she added: “While pet owners are understandably worried, the cases may be part of a normal increase in gastroenteritis that vets see during the colder months.
"We saw something similar a couple of years ago, and the latest data from the University of Liverpool’s veterinary surveillance database points to the spike being part of normal seasonal variation at the moment.
“Our advice to concerned owners is to contact their local vet for prompt treatment if their dog shows any signs of illness, such as vomiting and diarrhoea.”
Pet owners in areas including Hebden Bridge, York and Sheffield have highlighted concerns that their dogs have come down with the illness and said that vets have reported that this could be the case.
One person posted on a group in Hebden Bridge saying: "The dog sickness bug is spreading here like wildfire. My dog came down it on Thursday and I had only taken her to school and back!
"The vet said every other dog he has seen has this bug."
She said that her dog was "fine" now but that her mother's dog had now come down with the same illness.
She said: "Just be careful as they don't know what the cause is or how it's spreading."
Another person from Sheffield posted saying that there was a "nasty bug doing the rounds that will knock your dog off its feet".
They added that the virus is "spreading like wildfire and is in most areas" and had caused her dog to vomit and have diarrhoea, which were similar symptoms to the virus reported from the coast.
Emily Storey, from York, warned others about the illness - which she said was "taking longer than normal to recover from" - after her six-month old cockapoo Loki became ill last week.
She said she had taken him on walks around Copmanthorpe and discovered that other dogs in the area had fallen ill with a similar illness.
She said he was also vomiting and had diarrhoea and that he was not eating properly. She also said that when she took him to the vets she was told that it "seems to be worse than usual".
In Leeds, a woman was walking her dog at Hunslet canal before it also caught the illness. She said she thinks the virus came from the coast but is now being spread from dog to dog in the city.
