New Delhi, July 9 -- The monsoon bring much-needed relief from the heat, but also open the gates to dangerous, waterborne illnesses. For pet parents, this season demands extra vigilance, as both pets and humans can fall sick from the same contaminated water sources. Hidden threats often lurk in puddles, drains and even the water we use at home.

One of the most worrying illnesses this season is leptospirosis, a zoonotic bacterial infection that spreads through water contaminated by the urine of infected animals, usually rodents or stray dogs. Both pets and humans can pass it to each other or simply pick it up from the same puddle. I remember a pet parent once telling me about her Labrador, Bruno, who gleefully jumped into a roadside puddl...