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Seattle sea otter learns how to use an inhaler

Asthma is sometimes seen in domestic animals, mainly cats and horses, but never before in sea otters.

By Brooks Hays
Mishka, the inhaler-using sea otter. Photo by Seattle Aquarium
Mishka, the inhaler-using sea otter. Photo by Seattle Aquarium

SEATTLE, Sept. 19 (UPI) -- Earlier this year, a sea otter at the Seattle Aquarium named Mishka became the first sea otter to be diagnosed with asthma. Earlier this week, Mishka became the first sea otter to learn how to use an inhaler.

Mishka's caretakers first noticed she was having trouble breathing when the summer became polluted with smoke from wildfires in the state. Dr. Lesanna Lahner, a veterinarian at the aquarium, confirmed Mishka's asthma diagnosis after running blood tests and listening to her lungs.

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Mishka was first prescribed medication, the same drugs often given to children with asthma. But biologist Sara Perry began using food to coax Mishka into putting her nose to the inhaler and taking a breath.

"We try to make it as fun as possible," Perry said a news release. "Anytime you're training a medical behavior, you want to make it nice and positive."

Now, her caretakers hope to ween her off her meds and treat her exclusively with an inhaler.

Asthma is the name for chronic inflammation of the airwaves, characterized by reoccurring symptoms like coughing, wheezing and shortness of breath.

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Researchers aren't sure exactly how Mishka developed asthma, though wildfire smoke appears to have been a trigger. In humans, asthma is mostly thought to be a combination of genetic and environmental factors, but environmental triggers alone can also cause the malady. Asthma is sometimes seen in domestic animals, mainly cats and horses.

Seattle Aquarium was in the news earlier this year when an octopus there was caught on live television attempting to make a stealthy -- but ultimately unsuccessful -- getaway.

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