Nearly 3 weeks ago we saw the symptoms that we had all been dreading here at the surgery. Alabama Rot is a disease that is fatal in 90% cases.

I want to start by saying a very heart felt thank you to Nicola who has let us share Fizz’s story with you. She wants this to reach as many dog owners as possible so please do share this with whoever you know that has a dog. It’s incredibly important to mention that this condition is RARE. There have only been just over 120 cases in the UK since 2012. The last thing we want to do is scare anyone – far from it, we simply want everyone to be aware.

Fizz was a very healthy, very, very active Cocker spaniel who loved nothing more than a day out shooting. She was exceptionally brave and always the first to get into bracken and cover. Nicola first noticed that Fizz had some unusual skin pustules on her belly a few days after shooting in the woods at Bridge Reeve, near Chulmleigh. Initially she wasn’t alarmed as Fizz quite often got the odd scratch when she was working. Fizz became uncharacteristically quieter than normal (but still very bright) so she brought her in to the clinic and we took some blood to run some tests in our lab.

Within minutes the results told us that Fizz had already developed life threatening kidney failure. The disease causes tiny blood clots to form in the blood vessels which blocks them and can ultimately lead to damage of the affected tissue. In the skin, this causes ulceration; however, in the kidney it can lead to severe organ dysfunction.

Despite intensive treatment over 3 days and nights Fizz developed a clotting problem and anaemia. We simply couldn’t save her. We did everything possible to keep Fizz free of pain and exhausted every realistic treatment option. Very sadly we had to put Fizz to sleep. Nicola was obviously devastated.

We do not know the underlying cause or organism responsible for the development of Alabama Rot. We do know the likely pathogen lives in mud, particularly in mud from wooded areas.

Current evidence suggests that the median time to development kidney failure from the onset of a skin lesion is 3 days (range 1-10 days) .There does not appear to be a breed, body weight, sex or age predilection. Cases have been identified across the whole of UK and there may be a seasonal distribution with cases being identified between November and June.

There is currently no test to identify Alabama rot other than via post mortem samples. I’m very grateful that Nicola chose to let us perform a post mortem which meant we were able to send samples to the lab in the UK who are researching the disease - Anderson Moores. They recently confirmed our suspicions.

Please do not panic

• Bathe any area of your dog which becomes wet or muddy on a walk.
• Any unexplained skin or mouth lesions should be investigated by the vet.
• 93% of Confirmed Cases of Alabama rot have been in Winter / Spring.

So in summary – wash any mud off following walks with water and come in for a consult if any unexplained skin lesions on the feet, legs, mouth or under belly.

I’m so grateful to Nicola for letting us share Fizz’s story and thanks too for sharing photos of her doing what she loved the most. Tony Kemmish, Veterinary Surgeon, BSc BVMS DBR MRCVS GPcert(DCP).