Dog Flu?....Seriously?

You know the rule, right? When bad things are happening don't ask the question "Can anything else go wrong?" Apparently someone asked the question and now we have dog flu (canine influenza) spreading.

According to a Discovery News article, Edward Dubovi, director of the virology center at Cornell's Animal Health Diagnostic Laboratory, first isolated the canine influenza virus in 2004, after University of Florida researchers sent him fluid and tissue samples from greyhound race dogs that had died from a then mysterious respiratory illness at a Florida racetrack. Dubovi and his team determined the cause was the H3N8 equine flu virus, which jumped from horses to dogs. It is highly contagious and in addition to spreading from dog to dog, canines can also catch it from humans, who may have come into contact with infected animals.

But hold on, take a breath and before you fall for more scare tactics from our government, read Dog Flu Vaccine: Do You Really Need a Shot for the H3N8 Canine Virus? by Jan Rasmusen, author of Scared Poopless: The Straight Scoop on Dog Care(http://www.dogs4dogs.com/). This article and her website is full of great information.