More Dog Flu...

The dog flu has officially reached Northern California.

In one of the first cases in the region, a purebred puppy purchased from an Iowa breeder by a dog owner in the San Francisco area tested positive for canine influenza, Christian Leutenegger, a University of California, Davis, veterinarian, said Friday.

Leutenegger recently developed a speedy, DNA-based diagnostic test for the bug. He and his colleagues have tested more than 100 samples in recent months; most have been negative.

Symptoms are similar to the flu in people: The dogs get runny noses and congestion, cough, fever and apparent achiness.