Pet owners have been advised to avoid walking their dogs on North Yorkshire beaches for now – after a spate of animals fell ill.
Vets Yorkshire Coast Pet Care issued the warning on Facebook.
“I work within several practices up and down the North East coast and we have recently been inundated with dogs coming off the beaches with vomiting and diarrhoea,” the warning said.
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“Personally until the local authorities have got to the bottom of it I would not recommend taking your pets on the beach for the foreseeable future.
“I have been in touch with governing bodies and they are currently looking into it.
“If your dog is showing symptoms please make the local authorities aware as well as seeking veterinary attention should your pet need it.”
One pet owner said: “My six month old Lab has had horrendous diarrhoea for the past four days. Thankfully he’s now almost back to his usual self.
“We have walked on both the beach at Robin Hood’s Bay and the railway line at Bay / Thorpe.”
Another added: “Our dog is poorly after walking on Scarborough beach yesterday. He started being sick 24 hours after being there.”
And a third said: “We were in Whitby from the 1/1/22 -03/01/22 and the same day our puppy visited the beach , that night he was very sick and bad diarrhoea for the next three days.”
Some speculated that it was a virus, or connected to the recent outbreak of bird flu. But no explanation has yet been found.