The highly contagious infection can lead to pneumonia and hits puppies, older dogs and dogs with health problems the hardest. Vaccination against kennel cough protects for about year.

The Society of B.C. Veterinarians has noticed more dogs are catching kennel cough this year than in previous years, and they think it might be due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Norwegian authorities said up to 40 dogs had fallen ill with vomiting in at least 13 towns.

More than a dozen states, including several in the Pacific Northwest, are reporting outbreaks of a new respiratory illness. There have also been increases in canine respiratory illness cases at a clinic in Southeast Alaska and another in Southcentral, but there’s no indication yet if those were due to the mystery illness.

The mysterious respiratory illness that may have sickened thousands of dogs across the country could be caused by a new type of bacterial infection, researchers say.