Veterinary laboratories in several states are investigating an unusual respiratory illness in dogs, and encouraging people to take basic precautions to keep their pets healthy as veterinarians try to pin down what's making the animals sick. Oregon, Colorado and New Hampshire are among the states that have seen cases of the illness, which has caused lasting respiratory disease and pneumonia and does not respond to antibiotics. Symptoms of respiratory illness in dogs include coughing, sneezing, nasal or eye discharge and lethargy. Some cases of the pneunomia progress quickly, making dogs very sick within 24 to 36 hours. Dogs have died, said Kurt Williams, director of the Oregon Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory at Oregon State University.

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Persons: Kurt Williams, Williams, David Needle, Robert Wood Johnson Organizations: Oregon Department of Agriculture, U.S . Department of, National Veterinary Services Laboratory, Oregon Veterinary Diagnostic, Oregon State University, University of New, Diagnostic, Hubbard, for Genome Research, Associated Press Health, Science Department, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, AP Locations: Oregon , Colorado, New Hampshire, Oregon, University of New Hampshire's New Hampshire, Rhode Island , New Hampshire, Massachusetts