The holiday season isn’t just a busy time for airports and malls; dog kennels are also booked solid as people travel.

With a fast-spreading virus sickening dogs in several states, local facilities are taking extra precautions to keep your pets healthy.

Lucky Dog Pet Lodge in Bloomington is monitoring the outbreak. There have not been any cases reported here in Minnesota. The illness could be caused by a new type of bacterial infection that may be very good at evading the canine immune system.

“We still maintain a very rigorous cleaning schedule but again when things are airborne it’s pretty tough to prevent something from spreading or from a dog contracting it,” Tom Morehouse, owner of Lucky Dog Pet Lodge, said.   

Symptoms include coughing, sneezing, running eyes or nose and a lack of energy. 

Vets say owners can help their dogs stay healthy by making sure they’re up-to-date on all vaccines,  keep them away from large groups of unknown dogs and avoid shared water bowls.