Bucktown resident Gina Carr exercises her dog, Charlie, in Churchill Park on Monday. (DNAinfo/Alisa Hauser)
BUCKTOWN — Though Chicago veterinarians are "cautiously optimistic" that the canine influenza epidemic has peaked, a second Bucktown dog has died from complications believed to be connected to the contagious respiratory virus.
Experts are continuing to advise dog owners to refrain from socializing their pets.
A dog, residing at 1735 N. Paulina St. in the 96-unit PAC Lofts, died "due to respiratory complications believed to be connected to the dog influenza epidemic," according to an email sent last Thursday to dog owners in the building.
Reached on Tuesday, Pier Bell, a property manager for the lofts, said that the dog, whose breed and age was unavailable, was at a boarding facility for five days preceding its death and not on the premises.
"The owner said the dog was taken to two vets and both said it was sick due to a respiratory issue that is likely linked to the flu," Bell said.
Alisa Hauser explains why Cook County's official numbers are off:
Don Calloway, who lives about two blocks south of the PAC Lofts, is still grieving from the death of Dante, his 12-year-old Pomeranian/Chihuahua/German Shepherd mix, who died earlier this month from what he believes was the flu.
While the doctor admitted the symptoms were consistent with the dog flu, which rendered dog parks barren and temporarily closed dog hospitals, they could not confirm Dante had contracted the disease because the clinic does not test tissue samples of dead dogs for the virus.
"It's terrible; it's a crazy scenario. I'm not sure what the solution is to curb [the flu]. It's almost like it has to run its course," Calloway said on Tuesday after being informed of another dog death.
As of mid-April, 1,137 Cook County dogs have been suffering from the flu, which has been linked to six deaths, though there are more reported cases since then, said Frank Shuftan, a spokesman for the Cook County Department of Animal and Rabies Control.
The county office provides services to 518 veterinarians in Cook County, but only about one third of those self-report "hard numbers," Shuftan said.
"We can also say that even if vets have not been reporting specific numbers, they have been reporting trends and within those trends they continue to see cases of canine influenza," Shuftan said.
When ask if the flu has peaked, Shuftan replied "Can't tell yet," adding, "The best advice is still: Don’t socialize your dog."
Dr. Natalie Marks from Lakeview's Blum Animal Hospital, 3219 N. Clark St., said in an email on Monday that "we are cautiously optimistic that we are seeing the tail end of the outbreak (no pun intended!)."
"As of this week, over 1,500 dogs have been suspected to have had canine influenza, but we feel this number is underrepresented based on our local reference lab was not able to test for this strain until three weeks ago and many clinics were not testing specifically for canine influenza."
The strain Marks is referring to is "H3N2," which is typically found in southern Chinese and South Korean dogs and causes high fever, loss of appetite, coughing, nasal discharge and lethargy.
Though it has been in Asia since 2006, this is the first detection of H3N2 in North America, according to a report from Scientists at Cornell University and the University of Wisconsin.
Just up the street from the homes of the two deceased Bucktown dogs, several dogs were playing together in the Churchill Dog Park, 1825 N. Damen Ave. on Monday.
Craig Shields, a Ukrainian Village resident, takes his German Shepherd, Guthrie, to work with him in Lincoln Park and stops at the Bucktown park on the way home.
Monday was Shields' first time bringing the 10-year-old dog back to the dog park after keeping her away for many weeks.
"My wife and I feel like it's safe to bring her [out] because we have not heard much about the flu in the news," Shields said.
On a field next to the fenced-in dog park, Gina Carr was playing fetch with Charlie, her Goldendoodle.
Though Carr brings Charlie to a dog to a groomer every few months, on Sunday night Carr decided to groom him herself, and washed and trimmed the dog's face and paws.
A member of a Goldendoodle meet-up club, which has drawn as many as 35 dogs together at one time, Carr said that there have been no group gatherings since the flu outbreak started.
"Just this week I arranged a one-on-one play date for him with another Goldendoodle but am looking forward to the bigger meet-ups," Carr said.
Craig Shields with German Shepherd, Guthrie, at Bucktown's Churchill Dog Park on Monday. (DNAinfo/Alisa Hauser)
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