"I boil and freeze tap water before giving it to my dog," says David Carswell , "it gives me peace of mind," he adds at his home in Flint on Friday, Jan. 22, 2016. (Photo: Romain Blanquart Detroit Free Press) 
 
 DETROIT — Two dogs in the Flint area recently tested positive for lead toxicity, according to the state veterinarian. 
 
 The dogs with lead toxicity are both cross-breeds, and they're both still alive, said Dr. James Averill, state veterinarian and Animal Industry Division Director for the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development. One is a pet, and the other was a stray. Their test results were confirmed in October 2015 and January 2016, but state officials declined to release further details about the cases — including whether they live in Flint. 
 
 Both were in Genesee County, where high levels of the heavy metal in Flint's tap water system are a major crisis. Officials in Flint continue to advise that people and their pets avoid drinking unfiltered tap water. 
 
 "The confidentiality of the owners is like medical information in humans," Averill said. 
 
 These were the first two dogs to be confirmed with lead toxicity in the past five years, according to state records. Officials have not disclosed whether they were drinking Flint water, how much lead was in their systems, what symptoms they were showing, their weight or how old they are. 
 
 Dr. James Averill, State Veterinarian within MDARD's Animal Industry Division. (Photo: Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development) 
 
 "(The state) does provide reportable disease/condition case information down to the county level, but cannot provide the specifics of those individual cases," according to an email from Jennifer Holton, spokeswoman for the Michigan Department of Agriculture and Rural Development. The email cites the Animal Industry Act of 1988 for keeping information in the cases hidden from the public. 
 
 The state is in contact with area veterinarians, and the "vast majority" of tests for lead in dogs has been negative, Averill said. But people who notice their pets acting unusual are encouraged to see their veterinarian. 
 
 If a veterinarian determines a dog may have lead toxicity, the lab testing is provided free of charge, he said. And the number of requests has been increasing. But Averill also said that symptoms can vary widely. 
 
 "The thing with lead toxicity in animals, their clinical signs, they're so similar to so many other diseases," he said. 
 
 Dr. Michael Merrithew, a veterinarian for about 43 years, works at Veterinary House Call Services and Clinic in Grand Blanc, near Flint. He said he's not seen any recent cases he'd attribute to lead, but he's told his staff to watch for symptoms. 
 
 Among the possibilities, "mental dullness," possibly arthritis, "probably general malaise first," he said. 
 
 Averill said to watch for deviations from routines. 
 
 "My dog, when I get up in the morning, the first thing he wants to do is get up and go to the bathroom," he said. "(Pet owners) know their animals. And when they're not their normal selves, tell them to seek veterinary care." 
 
 Dr. Lawrence Ehrman, a veterinarian for about 33 years, works at Veterinary Medical Hospital in Flint Township. He also said he doesn't appear to have had any recent patients with lead toxicity, but lead poisoning from water can be more challenging to determine. 
 
 "What we're dealing with here is not like an acute poisoning. It's more a chronic sort of thing," he said. "It can cause brain and mental issues, blood issues and even some digestive and kidney issues, though they're much less common." 
 
 He said changes in attitude or signs of weakness could be symptoms of lead toxicity. 
 
 Averill said it's OK to bathe pets in Flint's tap water, but they should only be drinking filtered or bottled water. Since 2011, all the other cases of lead in animals have involved cattle. 
 
 Ehrman said that for people who don't immediately have bottled or filtered water available for their pets, there's an alternative. 
 
 "Probably melt some snow," he said. "And it would be safer, if your only other choice is feeding them straight Flint water." 
 
 Follow Robert Allen on Twitter: @rallenMI 
 
 Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/1X7hCq4 ||||| FLINT (WWJ/AP) – Flint’s lead toxicity problem has now apparently spread to animals. 
 
 Officials are reminding people to make sure pets aren’t drinking unfiltered Flint tap water after two area dogs recently tested positive for lead toxicity. It’s the state’s first lead toxicity cases involving dogs in five years. 
 
 “Here in Michigan, specifically in Genesse County, we’ve had two cases of high-lead levels reported to us in dogs in the last six months,” State Veterinarian Dr. James Averill told WWJ’s Chrystal Knight. “One was last fall and one was here in January. … One was a stray dog and the other was a family animal.” 
 
 Both dogs are still alive, although officials haven’t disclosed whether the dogs were drinking Flint water, how much lead was in their systems or what symptoms they were showing. 
 
 “There is no regular testing for lead,” said Averill. “What we do is we rely on the veterinarians who have the boots on the ground that are interacting with their clients and looking at the patients in front of them. When they are concerned or suspect a lead toxicity may be possible, they let us know at that time and then we work with them moving forward from there.” 
 
 Averill said the “vast majority” of tests for lead in dogs in the area have been negative amid Flint’s crisis with lead-tainted water. 
 
 “Dogs are at a higher risk amongst mammals for finding high lead levels, but it’s not that common. Typically for us when we deal with lead toxicity, we’re usually dealing with cattle. So, really this was a new instance for us,” he said. 
 
 To protect your pets, Averill said residents in Genesee County should “do what you are doing for yourself for your pet.” 
 
 “So number one, get your water tested to see if you have high lead levels. Two, if necessary, get a filter in place and then water your pets through that filtered water,” he said. “Take the same steps that you would for yourself for your pets.” 
 
 Averill said the first sign that your pet might be suffering from lead poisoning is any deviation from their normal behavior. 
 
 “I think the key thing is, as pet owners you know what is the normal routine for your pet,” he said. “So what pet owners need to be looking for is the animal having their normal behavior in their normal routine, as they are creatures of habit.” 
 
 The next step would be bringing your concerns to a local veterinarian, who can further decode what is going on with your pet. 
 
 “The signs and symptoms of lead toxicity are very broad and general, and similar to so many other diseases that a veterinarian needs to work up the case and do things to determine if it’s lead toxicity or if it’s something else,” said Averill. “For example, vomiting can be caused by many things. So it’s really critical that people work with a veterinarian when a pet has gone outside their normal routine.” 
 
 Anyone who notices their pets acting strangely is encouraged to take them to a veterinarian. 
 
 TM and © Copyright 2016 CBS Radio Inc. and its relevant subsidiaries. CBS RADIO and EYE Logo TM and Copyright 2016 CBS Broadcasting Inc. Used under license. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. The Associated Press contributed to this report. ||||| This post has been updated.* 
 
 Residents of Flint, Mich., complained of persistent problems with their water since the city switched the supply in April 2014. On Jan. 13, officials announced a spike in cases of Legionnaires' disease in the area. (AP) 
 
 For months, worried parents in Flint, Mich., arrived at their pediatricians’ offices in droves. Holding a toddler by the hand or an infant in their arms, they all have the same question: Are their children being poisoned? 
 
 To find out, all it takes is a prick of the finger, a small letting of blood. If tests come back positive, the potentially severe consequences are far more difficult to discern. 
 
 That’s how lead works. It leaves its mark quietly, with a virtually invisible trail. But years later, when a child shows signs of a learning disability or behavioral issues, lead’s prior presence in the bloodstream suddenly becomes inescapable. 
 
 According to the World Health Organization, “lead affects children’s brain development resulting in reduced intelligence quotient (IQ), behavioral changes such as shortening of attention span and increased antisocial behavior, and reduced educational attainment. Lead exposure also causes anemia, hypertension, renal impairment, immunotoxicity and toxicity to the reproductive organs. The neurological and behavioral effects of lead are believed to be irreversible.” 
 
 The Hurley Medical Center, in Flint, released a study in September that confirmed what many Flint parents had feared for over a year: The proportion of infants and children with above-average levels of lead in their blood has nearly doubled since the city switched from the Detroit water system to using the Flint River as its water source, in 2014. 
 
 The crisis reached a nadir Monday night, when Flint Mayor Karen Weaver declared a state of emergency. 
 
 “The City of Flint has experienced a Manmade disaster,” Weaver said in a declaratory statement. 
 
 1 of 37 Full Screen Autoplay Close Skip Ad × The controversial case over dangerous lead in water in a Michigan city View Photos Anger over high levels of lead in the water in Flint has led the mayor to declare a state of emergency. Caption Anger over high levels of lead in the water in Flint has led the mayor to declare a state of emergency. Jan. 25, 2016 Flint resident Angela Hickmon, 56, chants during a protest outside City Hall in downtown Flint. Jake May/The Flint Journal-MLive.com via AP Buy Photo Wait 1 second to continue. 
 
 The mayor — elected after her predecessor, Dayne Walling, experienced fallout from his administration’s handling of the water problems — said in the statement that she was seeking support from the federal government to deal with the “irreversible” effects of lead exposure on the city’s children. Weaver thinks that these health consequences will lead to a greater need for special education and mental health services, as well as developments in the juvenile justice system. 
 
 “Do we meet the criteria [for a disaster area]? I don’t know,” she told Michigan Live. But Weaver doesn’t think the city can receive the help it needs without alerting federal officials to the urgency of the matter. 
 
 [How companies make millions off lead-poisoned, poor blacks] 
 
 To those living in Flint, the announcement may feel as if it has been a long time coming. 
 
 Almost immediately after the city started drawing from the Flint River in April 2014, residents began complaining about the water, which they said was cloudy in appearance and emitted a foul odor. 
 
 Since then, complications from the water coming from the Flint River have only piled up. Although city and state officials initially denied that the water was unsafe, the state issued a notice informing Flint residents that their water contained unlawful levels of trihalomethanes, a chlorine byproduct linked to cancer and other diseases. 
 
 
 
 Flint Mayor Karen Weaver, right, and City Administrator Natasha Henderson, address questions about adding supplemental phosphates to the city’s water during a news conference in December. (Jake May/Flint Journal-MLive.com via AP) 
 
 Protesters marched to City Hall in the fierce Michigan cold, calling for officials to reconnect Flint’s water to the Detroit system. The use of the Flint River was supposed to be temporary, set to end in 2016 after a pipeline to Lake Huron’s Karegnondi Water Authority is finished. 
 
 A petition lobbying for the ending the city’s Flint River water supply garnered 26,000 signatures. 
 
 Through continued demonstrations by Flint residents and mounting scientific evidence of the water’s toxins, city and state officials offered various solutions — from asking residents to boil their water to providing them with water filters — in an attempt to work around the need to reconnect to the Detroit system. 
 
 That call was finally made by Snyder (R) on Oct. 8. He announced that he had a plan for coming up with the $12 million to switch Flint back to the Detroit system. On Oct. 16, water started flowing again from Detroit to Flint. 
 
 David Murray, press secretary for Michigan governor Rick Snyder’s office, told The Washington Post that the state has been working on improving the water quality in Flint and other cities for the past year. It has also offered more than $10 million in financial assistance to pay for a temporary switch into the Detroit system while the connection to Lake Huron is being prepared. 
 
 “Flint residents need to have access to safe, clean water,” Murray wrote in an email to The Post. “Gov. Snyder and the administration have been working closely with the city to focus on health issues affecting children and other city residents, and address water infrastructure challenges.” 
 
 He added that while the water leaving Flint’s drinking water system is safe to drink, “some families with lead plumbing in their homes or service connections could experience higher levels of lead in the water that comes out of their faucets.” An action plan created by Snyder in October includes free water testing, free water filters and the accelerating of corrosion controls in the drinking water system, according to Murray. 
 
 For the parents of children who may have been affected, such actions were accompanied by the sense that they had come too late. 
 
 These parents and other Flint residents filed a class-action federal lawsuit against Snyder, the state, the city and 13 other public officials in November for the damages they have suffered as a result of the lead-tainted water. The suit, which claims to represent “tens of thousands of residents,” alleges that the city and state officials “deliberately deprived” them of their 14th Amendment rights by replacing formerly safe drinking water with a cheaper alternative that was known to be highly toxic. 
 
 
 
 Lyla McCallun, 4, formerly of Flint, draws on a sheet of paper while sitting on the lap of her grandmother, Flint resident Jacqueline Pemberton, one of six others listed as plaintiffs in the lawsuit. (Jake May /Flint Journal-MLive.com via AP) 
 
 “For more than 18 months, state and local government officials ignored irrefutable evidence that the water pumped from the Flint River exposed [residents] to extreme toxicity,” the complaint reads. “The deliberately false denials about the safety of the Flint River water was as deadly as it was arrogant.” 
 
 Calling officials’ conduct “so egregious and so outrageous that it shocks the conscience,” the complaint cites the specific experiences of a few plaintiffs and their families, all of whom allege they have been challenged by similar health ailments since high levels of lead and copper entered their bloodstreams. 
 
 These conditions include skin lesions, hair loss, chemical-induced hypertension, vision loss and depression. Of the four families described in the complaint, two had ceased to drink Flint water after a certain point — and used it only for washing and cooking — but still said they were exposed to many of the same ill effects. 
 
 Snyder’s press secretary, Murray, wrote in an email to The Post that the administration disagrees with points in the suit, but declined to discuss details of pending litigation. 
 
 As the Detroit Free Press reported in October, avoiding Flint water became a way of life for the city’s residents. 
 
 Those who could afford it opted for bottled water, buying it by the gallons. Those who couldn’t spare the money drank it straight from the tap all the same, knowing that they would be paying for it later. When it came to bathing, some slowly filled bathtubs with pots of boiled water for their children. 
 
 (The city issued a boil advisory in September 2014. This recommendation runs contrary to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention’s guidelines on lead in drinking water, which state that heating or boiling water will not remove lead. In fact, “because some of the water evaporates during the boiling process, the lead concentration of the water can actually increase slightly as the water is boiled,” according to the CDC.) 
 
 LeeAnn Walters, a Flint resident and mother of 4-year-old twins, took every precaution after blood tests revealed that the level of lead in one of her sons had soared after the switch to Flint River. 
 
 “I was hysterical,” Walters told the Free Press. “I cried when they gave me my first lead report.” 
 
 She had feared lead was the problem when her whole family developed rashes and her son stopped gaining weight. 
 
 Now, Walters said, when her children experience problems as they grow up, she will always wonder whether things would have been different — if their lives would have been better — if it weren’t for the water. 
 
 *This post has been updated with a response from the office of Gov. Rick Snyder. 
 
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– First it was the kids of Flint found to have been tainted by lead, attributed by many to the area's toxic water. Now two dogs who live in the vicinity of the Michigan city have tested positive for lead toxicity—the first two pups to be confirmed with this in state records in five years, the Detroit Free Press reports. "Here in Michigan, specifically in [Genesee] County, we've had two cases of high-lead levels reported to us in dogs in the last six months," state vet Dr. James Averill tells CBS Detroit. "One was last fall and one was here in January." He says that one of the affected dogs was a stray, while the other was a pet. Both dogs are alive, Averill notes, but the state report doesn't specify how high their lead levels were, or what symptoms they had. And indeed, it's challenging to diagnose dogs with lead toxicity, as symptoms such as "mental dullness," arthritis, and lethargy can mimic those of other illnesses, Averill says. Instead, he mentions keeping an eye on variations in a pet's routine to help pinpoint if something's wrong. He does note to CBS, however, that the "vast majority" of lead tests on area dogs have come back negative, and he says they're relying on local veterinarians with "boots on the ground" to look out for suspicious cases. In the meantime, while Averill gives the OK to bathe pets in Flint-area tap water, he says they should be drinking filtered or bottled water or, as a last resort, melted snow. "It would be safer, if your only other choice is feeding them straight Flint water," he notes. (The FBI's now on Flint's case.)