A VET has issued a warning to dog owners after a husky from Southampton dies from a fatal infection

Breeze, the eight- year old husky owned by Aimee Crockford from Weston passed away after contracting lungworm.

Claire True, the vet from Sanctuary Vets Practice in Portsmouth who treated Breeze is warning other dog owners about the infection and the preventative measures they can take.

Aimée took Breeze to the vets after she noticed a change in his normal behaviour.

He seemed tired and wasn’t pulling on his lead as he often would when out for walks.

He had also coughed up blood on one occasion.

After examining him and carrying out tests, Claire was suspicious that Breeze may have lungworm.

Despite being treated, he was unable to fight off the disease and died a few days later.

Aimée, who also has an Akita dog called Diego, said: “Breeze was the best pet.

“ He loved going for family walks and would often be swimming in rivers or the sea.

“He was a bit of scavenger, always looking to find bits to eat like grass and leaves, and I guess it was this habit that may have led to him eating something infected.

“We miss him terribly and I would urge owners to keep a close eye on what their dogs are eating when outside and to treat them with preventative medicine for lungworm.”

Claire told the Dailly Echo that generally dogs contract lungworm after eating slugs or snails that carry the larvae, however they can also come into contact by eating grass or drinking from puddles where the larvae has spread to.

She said: “Sadly, it’s likely Breeze may have ingested the larvae when out on a walk and this would have developed in his lung area leading to the cough.

“His owner is understandably devastated to lose her beloved husky, but lungworm can go unnoticed for quite some time as the initial symptoms can be hidden.”

Claire told the Echo that there are preventive medications that owners can get from their vets to try and reduce the risk of infection.

She said that owners should be aware of the threat of slugs, snails and frogs which can all carry the lungworm larvae.

An interactive UK map of lungworm hotspots is available at www.lungworm.co.uk.

This website enables users allows people who search it to input their postcode and view logged cases of lungworm within a set distance from their home.

For advice, or if you suspect your dog has eaten something it shouldn’t have, Sanctuary Vets advises contacting your vet immediately.