COEUR d'ALENE - If your best canine buddy is sneezing, coughing, vomiting, has a runny nose, watery eyes and that usually relentless tail has lost its wag, it may be time to check for distemper.

Four-legged friends of all ages are susceptible to distemper, a gnarly virus with which the Kootenai Humane Society is presently coping. Three of the shelter's dogs, ages 2, 6 and 11, are confirmed to have distemper. KHS canines are under quarantine and no adoptions or dog walking will be allowed until each has been tested and cleared of the disease. The felines, however, are not affected and are still available for adoption.

"We are being extra cautious until we get test results back," said Debbie Jeffrey, KHS executive director. "We have a good plan of attack going."

KHS tested 10 of its 47 dogs for the virus in response to the distemper outbreak in the Panhandle Animal Shelter in Sandpoint, which began about four weeks ago. Panhandle confirmed 21 cases, most of them puppies, and two of them have died. Jeffrey said what's weird about the KHS cases is the age of the dogs. Most of the time, she said, puppies are the most vulnerable.

"The problem is because the way they come in and if they're strays, you don't know their histories," she said. "If they haven't had vaccinations in their adult life, they're still susceptible."

Jeffrey said KHS has called all the local veterinarians and informed them of the distemper cases as well as anyone who has adopted a dog from the humane society since the beginning of March. KHS has been keeping in close contact with an expert at the Wisconsin University School of Veterinary Medicine who dealt with canine flu that recently broke out in the Midwest. KHS is remaining proactive, following protocol and administering treatment as necessary, Jeffrey said. The humane society immediately gave all new canines vaccinations and intends to administer boosters every three weeks.

"What is so hard about distemper is at the beginning, it has the same signs as kennel cough," Jeffrey said. "When you line them all up in a chart, there's not one symptom that says it's distemper. As it progresses, some can lose their appetite, some cough until they throw up.

"I think what everybody is shocked on is we've been treating them for kennel cough and here it is, distemper."

Jeffery said it is still unclear exactly where and when KHS caught the virus. It has been speculated that the cases at Panhandle Animal Shelter came from puppies that were flown in from California.

"We're still trying to track down where it came from and when it came in," Jeffrey said. "You might be able to pinpoint an approximate date, but we don't know for sure."

According to the ASPCA (American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals), canine distemper is "a virus that affects a dog's respiratory, gastrointestinal and central nervous systems, as well as the conjunctival membranes of the eye. Symptoms include sneezing, coughing and thick mucus coming from the eyes and nose. Fever, lethargy, sudden vomiting and diarrhea, depression and/or loss of appetite are also symptoms of the virus."

Jeffrey said the quarantine at the shelter is crucial because distemper is easily spread, especially through sneezes that can launch bacteria as far as 25 feet. It is also passed through fresh urine, blood and saliva. It can travel to the brain, causing seizures and shaking, and it weakens immune systems, making dogs vulnerable to other diseases such as pneumonia. It can be fatal.

The humane society's dogs will remain on lockdown for a few weeks. In the meantime, Jeffrey encourages people to make sure their furry friends are up to date on their shots.

"Your best line of defense is vaccinate, vaccinate, vaccinate," Jeffrey said.