A powerful bug that has killed at least two dogs has British health officials taking notice.

The bug -- methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus -- infected the animals after relatively routine surgeries in veterinary hospitals.

The Department for Environment, Food, and Rural Affairs has created a committee to examine MRSA, said the Sunday Times of London.

One of the dog's owners, London soap opera actress Jill Moss, is raising the issue through a charity she created. Moss' 10-year-old Samoyed Bella died last year from an MRSA infection following surgery.

If I had known about MRSA in animals or understood the risk, Bella could have been saved not just from death, but from inhumane suffering, Moss said.

The current MRSA strain is resistant to antibiotics, and is blamed for 5,000 human deaths per year in British hospitals. Until recently, however, passage via animals had not been investigated.