MUSKEGON, Mich. (WOOD) — A veterinarian at a low-cost clinic believes a spike in rare illnesses seriously affecting dogs is connected to a recently opened downtown dog park.
"We have seen a tremendous increase in hookworm and whipworm," said Pay It Forward Outreach vet Sandra Strandberg.
She said they have been seeing a trend the last few weeks and it didn't just involve the rare worms. Strandberg said there's also been a startling spike in dogs contracting parvovirus, something they sometimes don't see any cases of during the summer months.
"Summer, when the temperature is 90, we don't really see a lot of parvo," Strandberg., said. "Last week here we saw 14 parvo cases. The week before it was 10. The week before it was eight."
She began sending some clients down the street to Glenpark Animal Hospital due to volume.
"We can’t handle 14 cases a week here and we have been sending parvo cases down to them," she explained.
The issues, which Strandberg said aren't easily treated, seemed connected.
"We started asking clients, ‘were you in a public area? Were you at Petco (or) PetSmart? Were you at the dog beach (or) dog park,’" Strandberg said. "In almost every case, they identified the dog park."
The Downtown Muskegon Petsafe Bark Park was the common denominator, according to the longtime vet. When 24 Hour News 8 called Downtown Muskegon Now, the agency that runs the dog park, they hadn't been aware of the issue.