Fears are growing over a mystery dog virus after a woman's dog was left "limp" and "lifeless" after contracting the illness.
Nicola Jane's six-month-old pup started to look extremely ill after a walk along a canal in Leeds.
Leeds Live reports that he battled the virus for five days, and it almost killed him.
Nicola had been walking the dog around the canal with a friend and her dog, who also became ill.
Fortunately her friend's dog was able to fight off the illness after a day.
Both dogs fell ill around four hours after the walk, something that became noticeable as they were sick and "seemed off".
Soon after this, Nicola's dog took a turn for the worst.
She said: "On day three he started to perk up, I thought the worst of it must be over and he was getting better like my friend's dog.
"I was still concerned but his food started staying down so I thought he must have been on the mend".
A man walks his dogs along the blocked beach after a cliff collapse at Mundesley in north Norfolk.
Joe Giddens
Nicola had seen reports about the mystery dog virus affecting dogs near the coast and hoped it was not that.
She added: "I woke up around 3am on night four, and just thought I was losing him.
"I thought he was dead, he was shaking and being sick, he was limp in my arms I thought he wasn't coming back from this.
"At that point in the night I took him to the emergency vet, I was really shocked with the numbers that were there.
"I was terrified.
"He is a mess, he is like a skeleton he is that skinny. He lost that much weight.
"There was nothing on him, no life, he was limp, I thought he was gone, I thought I was losing him".
Nicola asked the vet if the virus had become contagious, but claims to have been told that the virus has now turned into an infection.
She says that the vets felt that the virus originated from the beaches, but has now spread inland due to people travelling away from coastal areas.
She also claims that the vets told her to avoid popular dog walking spots, due to fears over the virus spreading quickly.
Nicola does not think the virus came from the water, as her dog never entered the canal.
