Respiratory illness impacting dog industry businesses - 9News.com KUSA

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“It’s scary financially because there’s no assistance," said Big Dogs Daycare and Training owner Cheri Sparks.

DENVER — The mysterious respiratory illness that has been impacting dogs in the metro area and dozen of other states, has now impacted groomers, boarding and daycare services financially.

“Thanksgiving weekend was really slow this year. In the past, I’ve had between 55 and 85 dogs for Thanksgiving. This year I had 18," said Cheri Sparks, owner at Big Dogs Daycare and Training.

Sparks has been in business for eight years. During the holidays, she said pet owners usually do not travel with their pets which means more business for her. But now with the rapid decline in revenue, additional costs have to come out of her pocket instead of the company's.

“It’s scary financially because there’s no assistance for people like us in a crisis, because this is a crisis when your business goes from an average of 40 dogs a day to zero, three or five," said Sparks. "I do a lot of things out of my own pocket here like buy treats, bones, and balls. I mean I really spoil these dogs and it makes it to where I have to cut back on those type of things just to get necessities, plus I’ve had to cut back on my staff."

Sparks said some of her clients have brought up concerns about being around dogs since veterinarians say the mysterious illness is spread through close contact with other dogs.

Big Dogs Daycare and Training said they have strict cleaning and safety protocols in place, as well as educating staff to look out for any symptoms.

Here are some symptoms to look out for:

Coughing
Sneezing
Nasal discharge
Rapid/labored breathing

“We don’t want to spread this virus to anyone. Healthy and happy dogs is our goal. Being a training facility, we like to send dogs home better than they came. So, we’re not taking any dog that’s coughing or sneezing," said Sparks.

According to veterinarians there are a few things you can do to protect your dog from getting sick:

Canine influenza vaccine
Bordetella vaccine (every six to 12 months)
Keep your dog home as much as possible
Avoid dog parks, doggy day care, and boarding facilities

If you plan to leave your dogs at a boarding facility during the holidays, Sparks suggests to check with any facility to ensure that all dogs are required to be vaccinated during their stay.

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