Deadly dog disease prompts Redlands business owners to cancel animal shelter fundraiser. What pet owners should know

While dogs continue to be sickened by a mysterious respiratory disease that’s going around, a Redlands coffee shop owner was disheartened to share she had to cancel an event aimed to benefit shelter animals because of the illness.

Olive Avenue Market rests near downtown Redlands and is co-owned by Sonya Rozzi. She’s become familiar with her regular customers and their beloved pooches.

“We have a lot of people who walk their dogs and a lot of dogs in the neighborhood, and I live right next door so they've all become neighborhood friends,” she told Rozzi.

For that reason, she and other nearby business owners wanted to do a good deed and organized an event that would have benefited shelter animals. Unfortunately, due to a canine disease that is highly contagious and at times, deadly the event was canceled.

“We had a lot of fun and awesome things planned, but this virus came about and we don't feel comfortable doing it right now,” Rozzi said. “It's too risky to have all these animals congregate in one location.”

Veterinarians warn the canine respiratory illness usually begins with a cough that’s persistent and could last for several weeks. That cough has been found to develop to severe pneumonia in some cases and does not respond to antibiotics.

"What vets are finding right now is that it's not responsive to the antibiotics that we typically reach for first to treat a typical pneumonia,” Dr. Kristian Joyce, Veterinarian Medical Director of the Humane Society of San Bernardino, said. “A lot of times, vets are having to reach for a stronger antibiotics to treat these pets.”

While Olive Avenue Market and other businesses involved in the fundraiser wait for cases to decline to reschedule their event, Rozzi encourages the public to adopt from their local animal shelters.

“You know, they just want a home, too.”