A woman's dog is fighting for her life after picking up a 'rat disease' whilst out on walk. The Dachshund contracted Leptospirosis and is now vomiting and not eating, reports Grimsby Live.
Natalia Fraczek, 18, says her dog, Ula, started feeling unwell after going for a walk in a local park last week. The dog-owner claims her pooch seemed fine post-walk but just four days later everything changed.
She says Ula began throwing up and refusing to eat or drink. After waiting for a day to see if the symptoms improved, the 18-year-old then took her pet to Blue Cross Hospital in Grimsby.
After running a number of tests, vets discovered Ula had contracted Weil's Disease, also known as Leptospirosis. Leptospirosis is a serious infection that can be deadly to both dogs and humans and causes toxins to attack the liver and other organs.
After receiving her diagnosis, Ula is now on life support and, if she doesn't make any improvements soon, may have to be put down. Natalia said: "Ula went for a walk with my mum on Wednesday to People's Park and was absolutely fine until four days later when she fell ill.
"We noticed something was wrong on Sunday morning as she kept throwing up and wasn't eating. She was clenching her jaw. She was in that much pain and began shaking on Monday, that was when we decided to take her in.
"We found out that the toxins in her body had attacked her liver and kidneys. It's got that bad that she's now been put in isolation and we don't know if she'll make it."
"The vets told us they'll give her 24 hours to see any improvement and then another 24 hours before we have to start thinking about euthanizing her." For the teen and her family the thought of putting her beloved dog down is one she is struggling to process.
Natalia said: "It's really upsetting to think this may be the case, I wouldn't wish this on my worst enemy." The disease is often passed on from rats and can be transmitted to animals just by being near an affected rodent.
According to the NHS, Leptospirosis is spread in the urine of infected animals – most commonly rats, mice, cows, pigs, and dogs. You can catch it if soil or water that contains infected pee gets in your mouth, eyes, or a cut.
Natalia says People's Park is the only place Ula had been walking before she fell ill and hopes it won't happen to any other dog owners. She said: "We've had Ula for four years and got her after the birth of my brother so this has been really hard on all our family.
"She's part of our family and is like a little person to us. We are always so wary when we're out walking her and will be even more so if she survives.
"I just don't want anyone else to have to go through what we have. It's quite worrying, to say the least, I'm now checking my other pets to make sure they don't start showing signs of it."
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