Dozens of pets have been left 'limp, lifeless and vomiting' as a mystery dog illness spreads.
Nicola Jane took her lurcher along a canal towpath and he became ill only hours later..
The six-month old dog contracted an infection which almost killed him for five days after the walk.
A friend's dog which she was also exercising also became ill but managed to recover after they were exercised at Hunslet Canal., Yorkshire.
The animals both had symptoms within four hours of the walk and '"seemed off".
Hundred of dogs have experienced similar symptoms prompting vet warnings to avoid coastal walks.
Cases have been reported at Hayling Island beach and Langstone Harbour in Hampshire, Fraisthorpe Beach in East Riding, Bridlington and Redcar beach.
Nicola, of Leeds, West Yorkshire said "'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.'
The Daily Mail reports that blood tests were carried out and the vet kept the pet overnight and monitored IV fluids.
Nicola added: "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."
Vets told her a virus which was originally from beaches was spreading.
The animal doctors warned her to avoid the popular dog walking areas at the coast because it is spreading from dog to dog very quickly.
Earlier this month The Mirror told about a more than a hundred dog illnesses which had struck down animals.
Veterinary nurse Brogan Proud, who runs Yorkshire Coast Pet Care posted a message on Facebook where she said that she had been "inundated" with ill dogs that have been vomiting and suffering from diarrhoea.
She said that local authorities were investigating what is behind the illness and that worryingly a lot more dogs have been affected than she previously thought as more people have contacted her.
"As it's gone so public, it just seems to be much higher numbers than I thought. I know the local authorities have been testing, they can't find anything as of yet"
Before that incident The Mirror reported animals had been affected in Yorkshire.
Vet practices in the region then shared warnings on Facebook, urging owners to avoid beaches in Scarborough and Saltburn.
The bug was then thought to be moving inland to towns and cities, including Hebden Bridge, York, and Sheffield, reported similar symptoms.
One person posted on a group in Hebden Bridge saying: "The dog sickness bug is spreading here like wildfire. My dog came down it on Thursday and I had only taken her to school and back!"
Relatives of Nicola, 59, have also had their dogs admitted to the vets, some for three days.
Dog owners told how his Great Dane died after contracting lung infection from swimming in 'polluted' sea water.
David Arthur's 13-month-old dog Odin swam at Hayling Island in Portsmouth, Hampshire, but had to be put to down because of the infection
He had already spent £6,000 on treating Odin but the animal's lungs were damaged from pneumonia, with the sea thought to be the likely cause of infection.
A £12,000 vet bill faced the owner of another dog after her Staffordshire bull terrier swam in polluted sea water.
Nalu was infected after swimming at Langstone which terrified her owner Louisa Moss.
The pooch became so ill she had to be put on a ventilator and was struggling to breathe and her owners were told she might die.
