Puppy ailments

(Continued from last week)

 Herpes virus of young puppies

Some of you may recall that, a few decades ago, there was a great awareness of herpes virus infections in the sexually active human population.  I recall both Time and Newsweek magazines carrying this ailment as their cover page stories. It seemed that the infections of syphilis and gonorrhoea had been pushed on to the back burner and replaced by the herpes infections.  Then, of course, came AIDS. That pushed every other sexually transmitted disease off the entire stove.

Well, yes, dogs also can be infected by a very specific herpes virus.  This virus hits both puppies and adult dogs, although the symptoms differ.  Anyway, before I cause a panic among dog lovers, let me hasten to add that only canines (dogs, wolves, coyotes) are susceptible to this particular canine herpes virus.

So, now that is clear, let us discuss this disease.  The first thing that impresses me is its insidious nature.  In other words, it creeps up on the