POOLE police officers are warning pet owners about Alabama Rot following reports of dogs falling ill after walking on heathland near the town centre.
In a post on the Rossmore Safer Neighbourhood Team Facebook page, they said that there have been unconfirmed reports of the animals becoming unwell after being walked on the Bourne Valley Nature Reserve, behind Berkeley Avenue.
It continues: “If anyone is concerned by their dog’s health, please visit a vets straight asap. If they suspect Alabama Rot, they will refer you to a specialist vets Anderson Moores in Winchester.”
This comes following unconfirmed reports from Poole residents of up to 27 dogs falling ill up to 48-hours after walking on the heath. Some have later died, residents have claimed, with all dogs alleged to show similar symptoms including loss of appetite and renal failure.
Sue Bridal, who lives just a short distance from the nature reserve, said: “My dog died in February last year. He went from ill to death in 36-hours.
“My friend’s dog had to be put down two days before Christmas. His dog was 13, but she was an agile 13-year-old.
“We are talking about a lot of dogs becoming ill in one area.”
Fellow resident, Steve Grant, said: “It’s a serious epidemic. What if children go there? There’s something seriously wrong.”
A member of staff from Anderson Moores Veterinary Specialists said that they had not received any reports of Alabama Rot in Dorset.
James Norman, regulatory team manager at Borough of Poole, said: “We have been informed of three dogs that have died, two of which died on the week beginning January 11, and a third in February last year. These dogs were showing symptoms that could be caused by a variety of illnesses.
“We have visited the Nature Reserve and found no visual contamination. Wessex Water have carried out tests in the area and found no evidence of sewage contamination. We have also contacted local vets and they reported that they haven’t seen a significant increase in mortality of dogs in the area.”
He added that they will continue to monitor the situation and urged any dogs owners with information to contact Borough of Poole’s Environmental Health team on 01202 261700.
In the New Forest, dog owners are being urged not to panic after a six-year-old whippet named Spartacus had to be put down after being exercised in Lyndhurst and other parts of Hampshire.
Her owner, marathon runner Robin Ward, 37, of Waterlooville, said: “I took her everywhere and I couldn’t say where she might have picked it up.
“I had her put down because it was the right thing to do, but I loved her very much and it broke my heart.”
Most of the dogs struck down by Alabama Rot after being exercised in the Forest have been treated by Anderson Moores, a specialist veterinary practice based at Hursley, near Winchester.
David Walker, the practice’s head of medicine, confirmed that Mr Ward’s dog developed skin lesions, followed by kidney failure, and had to be destroyed.
The Forest has so far seen at least 17 cases of Alabama Rot but Mr Walker said instances of the disease were extremely low compared with the hundreds of dogs that were walked in the area every day.
He added: “It’s also important to stress that the disease is not invariably fatal. Some dogs do survive.”
Highlighting the problems involved in trying to find a cure he warned: “The difficulty with the disease is that although we suspect an environmental trigger we don’t know for sure.”
A district council spokesman urged dog owners to remain vigilant.
He said they should contact a vet if they noticed a lesion or blister on their dog’s leg or face within seven days of the animal being exercised in the Forest or elsewhere.
“This may be hard to spot but you may notice your dog licking itself more than usual,” he said.
Alabama Rot was first identified in greyhounds in the United States in the 1980s and appears to have reached the UK at the end of 2012.
Many of the cases have occurred in Hampshire and Dorset but several other counties have also been affected including Cornwall, Worcestershire and Durham.
Some experts believe it may be caused by bacteria found in wooded areas, which could explain why the Forest is one of the hotspots.