JACKSON, Miss. (WLBT) – Jackson residents stocking up on bottled water should remember their pets as well. If boiling your water for consumption, veterinarians remind you to do so for your fur babies as well.
One Jackson resident believes her dogs became ill from drinking the city’s water.
“You know if it makes the dog sick, it’s gonna make us sick,” said Mable Brown.
Brown lined up for bottled water at the Central Fire Station and will now share it with her two dogs. The city is under a boil water notice and high heat is needed to kill bacteria in the water.
“I’ve been giving my dogs the water. Seems like they’ve been getting sick, and I’m going to take them to the doctor,” said Brown. “I don’t know if they’ve been getting sick off the water or what, but they’ve been throwing up and everything.”
“Boiling the water, using either filtered, distilled water certainly would be the best way to help with this problem,” said veterinarian Dr. Troy Majure of the Animal Medical Center.
The more than 40-year animal physician said illnesses in pets can be associated with recent heat but he sees an increase in patients when there are problems with the city’s water.
“Not unusual to see two or three a day that may have an issue,” said Majure. “I think we have seen more vomiting, more diarrhea in the last actually couple of months.”
He suggests that you remember your fur babies need safe drinking water that you would also consume. During high temperatures, they require plenty of water and shade to avoid heat exhaustion or heat stroke.
Testing of the city’s water has indicated a higher than the standard level of turbidity or cloudiness caused by the use of lime to increase pH levels. The turbidity created by the lime increases the chance that the water may contain disease-causing organisms.
“Treat your pet just like you treat other members of the family as far as the water and love on your pets. That’s very important,” added the Jackson veterinarian.
All customers are advised to bring their drinking water to a rolling boil for one minute before drinking or for other uses.
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