I have to admit it’s really hard to resist the doggie in the window. The one with the waggly tail that seems to want everyone’s attention.
Sometimes you may even get the chance to cuddle one of those cuties but the next time you should think twice before letting them give you any puppy kisses.
The next time you hear someone wants to pet a puppy from a pet store warn them about this:
“According to a recent report by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), pet store puppies have already sent more than 100 people to the hospital.”
A large number of people are contracting an illness while petting puppies.it’s called Campylobacter, this bacteria, causes more than 1.3 million illnesses in the U.S. every year.
The CDC reports that in a year campylobacter has been spread from puppies sold at six pet stores.
118 people in 18 states have contracted the illness.
They believe the pet store employees have been overtreating the puppies with large doses of antibiotics to prevent common infections. This may have caused both good and bad bacteria to be killed off.
Allowing the campylobacter to become antibiotic-resistant and take over.
“Essentially, it felt like you were dying,” Katie Singleton, who worked at the Mall of Georgia Petland, told Channel 2 Action News after she was hospitalized for several days.
Should you be worried?
‘Campylobacter typically causes bloody diarrhea, abdominal pain, and fever.’
People often show signs within three to five days of exposure. Luckily, most people are able to fight through the illness. Unfortunately, anyone with weak immune systems or the elderly may die from the illness.
The bacteria is spread through saliva, which means no puppy kisses.
Affectionate little puppy kisses may make you feel warm and fuzzy inside, but these sweet kisses may actually be the kiss of death.