If you walk your dog in the New Forest, please take a moment to fill in a questionnaire to help an Animal Health Trust investigation into New Forest dog deaths.

A recent spate of dog deaths in the New Forest in Hampshire has prompted Animal Health Trust scientists to assist in an on-going investigation into this mystery dog illness.

Dog owners are advised to look out for wounds or lesions on the limbs or face of their dog which will not heal. Affected dogs then go on to develop signs of severe depression, loss of appetite, and vomiting, quickly accompanied by acute injury to the kidneys, which is understood to have proven fatal in all but two cases to date.

If you have walked your dog in the New Forest Fordingbridge area since the beginning of 2013, please complete the questionnaire, even if your dog has not been affected.

And if you're planning to walk your pooch in the New Forest this summer, please read the health information before you go and make sure you get a local vet's number sorted out before you need it. Hopefully you won't - but better safe than sorry.

More details and link to the questionnaire: Animal Health Trust

The Animal Health Trust is a charity which fights disease and injury in animals through scientific research. Take a look at their website for more info: http://www.aht.org.uk