A CELEBRITY vet has issued an alert to dog owners after the highly contagious deadly virus claimed the lives of several dogs in two weeks.

Julian Norton, who stars in The Yorkshire Vet TV documentary series has warned dog owners to be on the look-out for diarrhoea with blood in it, loss of appetite, lethargy, and drooling, after the deaths of three dogs at his Thirsk practice.

Mr Norton, who works at the Skeldale Vet Centre, made famous by James Herriot creator Alf Wight and the popular Channel 5 series, said the cause of the dogs deaths had been found to be parvovirus – an infection which can be immunised against.

Mr Norton said: “We have seen occasional cases of the virus, but it is not that common.

"In the last two weeks we have seen two puppies of around six months old and one adult bitch die after being infected and there was nothing we could do to prevent it because it becomes acute very quickly.

“Some people are often quick to dismiss the need to keep up to date with annual vaccinations, but this recent outbreak reminds us all how important they are.

“Parvo is a viral infection that is part of a puppy’s normal vaccination programme – but dogs should be given a booster annually to prevent them becoming at risk.”

Parvovirus first came to the UK in the late 1970s and Mr Norton said it had devastating effects at that time.

He said: “Sometimes dogs do respond well to treatment, but I would say they would only have around a 50 per cent chance of survival.”

Mr Norton said the puppies that died were from the same litter, and had recently been rescued so are unlikely to have been vaccinated. The five-year-old bitch that died had recently had a litter of her own, and lived close to the owner of the puppies.

He added:“As vets it is very emasculating as most things we can care for, but this is very difficult. It is scary and it was a big shock to the owner – but it is preventable if dogs are vaccinated.”