Nine police dogs contract illness in almost ‘unheard of’ circumstances

THE RUMOUR FILE

Nine police dogs have contracted an illness in ‘highly unusual’ circumstances, with vets having to put one of dogs down.

Yesterday the Rumour File heard a number of “service dogs had fallen ill after having some kind of reaction”.

Inspector Jon Woodyat, from the Victoria Police Dog Squad today confirmed the story to Ross and John.

“We do have a condition called megaesophagus which is affecting some of our police dogs,” Inspector Woodyat said.

“At this stage we don’t (know the cause), we have our expert vet looking into it.

“We’re told having this number of dogs with this condition is pretty much unheard of in veterinary circles.”

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“We’re told there are a number of common factors, one of which does include the food that we’re feeding the dogs,” he said.

The condition causes the oesophagus to become enlarged and lose its mobility, affecting the ability to swallow properly and can lead to bouts of pneumonia.