Holiday travel is quickly approaching, and many people are making plans for their pets. However, a mysterious respiratory disease has some people concerned with boarding their animals. Kristen Adkins and her 2-year-old dog Milo love socializing with other dogs, but since learning the illness had popped up around Tampa Bay, Kristen is opting to keep her dog at home. "He used to go to the Dog Bar in downtown St. Pete, we have a membership. He goes to the dog park and he goes to daycare regularly. But once we heard about the illness and how serious it is and that it can be fatal, we just decided it's not even worth the risk," Adkins said. Doctors say this mysterious respiratory illness is highly contagious and similar to kennel cough but worse. So far, traditional medications haven’t been effective in fighting it. In most cases, the disease leads to coughing, sneezing and lethargy, but if left unchecked it could lead to pneumonia — and in rare cases, death. But as the holiday travel rush gets underway, many people across the region are still choosing to board their dogs at facilities like Preppy Pet of St. Petersburg. Preppy Pet owner Tori Hitchcox said, "We are checking all the dogs and asking all the questions of the owners like have they been sneezing? Have you noticed any different kind of behavior?" MORE: https://www.wtsp.com/article/news/health/dog-respiratory-illness-boarding-tampa-st-pete/67-8ea6c4d1-601f-49e2-a788-3ab3e717927e ►Subscribe: https://on.wtsp.com/youtube ►Website: https://www.wtsp.com/ ►Facebook: https://facebook.com/10TampaBay ►Twitter: https://twitter.com/10TampaBay