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A dog in Alberta has died after contracting highly pathogenic avian influenza (HPAI), according to Office of the Chief Regional Veterinarian.
This is the second confirmed fatal case of avian influenza in a domestic dog in Canada. first reported in Oshawa, Ontario in 2023. This dog was also infected by a snow goose.
According to the department, the Alberta dog was taken to a veterinarian in the central part of the province in November 2025 after it “swallowed” a snow goose. provinces. After the dog's body was sent to the University of Calgary's diagnostic unit, it was confirmed that the dog had contracted avian influenza.
The province's Office of the Chief Veterinarian reported the death earlier this week in a memo emailed to veterinarians across Alberta on Tuesday.
Hussein Keshwani, the province's deputy chief veterinarian, said the dog: 10 year old female goldendoodle — was already being treated for an immune disease that may have contributed to his death. The dog died four days after it was brought to the vet.
A domestic cat died in the US after eating raw pet food and contracting H5N1 avian influenza. Epidemiologist Dr. Christopher Labos told CBC News that the risk of any individual pet contracting avian flu is still low, but what's concerning is that the easier it becomes for it to infect different species of animals, “the easier it will eventually become for this virus to infect people.”
It is unclear how the dog was exposed to the snow goose, but Keshwani said it is a reminder that pet owners should ensure their animals do not consume raw meat.
“If people may not let their cats roam outside or keep their dogs off-leash, especially during migration season, then this is kind of the best way avoid their contact with sick and dead wildlife or contaminated water,” Keshwani said.
The province's Office of the Chief Veterinarian and the University of Calgary declined to provide a more precise location of the infection. Keshwani said there was no need to identify a location because the potentially infected birds cover such a large area of the province that “anywhere wild birds congregate becomes a risk area.”
Three cases of bird flu have been confirmed in snow geese in Alberta this year, according to the latest version of the study. map cases in the wild, compiled by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. The last one occurred in August in Buffalo Lake, east of Red Deer, and the other two occurred near Edmonton.
According to the veterinarian, such cases are not increasing.
Tracy Fisher, president of the Canadian Veterinary Medical Association, says Canada has not seen a significant increase in avian influenza cases among domestic cats and dogs., “although there is a risk.”
She compared the situation in Canada to that in the United States, where several cases of avian influenza have recently been reported in pets after eating raw meat and unpasteurized milk.
Bird flu symptoms in pet mammals include discharge from the eyes and nose, as well as neurological symptoms such as twitching and seizures, Fisher said.
“It’s a very nasty disease,” Fisher said.
Dogs have own flu strain they are susceptible to what is called canine influenza or canine influenza.
But when it comes to bird flu, “it's unusual for dogs,” Fisher said.
Non-avian animals that have died after contracting avian influenza in Canada include striped skunks, red foxes and some species of seals. A recent outbreak of the disease has affected cattle in the United States.
First fatal case of avian influenza in humans in North America been to Alberta in 2014.
