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| Author |
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sylvain3
Posts:2
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| 06/30/2007 7:19 AM |
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----- Original Message -----
Sent: Thursday, June 28, 2007 9:06 AM
Subject: [gsp-l] Fw: [region9_flyball] Deadly pond scum
OT
I am crossposting the following. This is not my dog, but
I feel that the warning is very important.
On
Monday,
June 25, 2007 I took my healthy 9 month old Border Collie Vita
swimming
at approximately 6:30 p.m. Vita and two other BC‘s spent about
an
hour and a half diving off the dock, chasing the Water Kong, and running around.
The
temperature that day was just over 90 degrees, but none of the dogs
looked
particularly winded or hot.
Vita
emerged from the water and looked as if she was going to vomit. She
threw
up lake water three times. I wasn't’t particularly concerned as
she
took in a lot of water from retrieving and swimming so much and had seen other
dogs
do that in the past without complications.
After
the third time throwing up, she lay down and closed her eyes. Her
tongue
was hanging out of her mouth and I began to suspect she may have
heat
stroke. I immediately placed ice on her stomach and checked her gums.
They
were pink. I took her temperature which was 101.9, still normal. I then
called
my Vet who said these conditions did not indicate heat stroke and said I
needed
to get emergency medical attention right
away.
Vita
was not responsive and when I picked her up to put her in the car she
was
limp and her eyes were still closed. Her breathing was slow and her
heart
was racing. I arrived at the emergency clinic only a half hour from the
time
she showed signs of distress. The ER Vet asked me what sorts of things Vita
had
been doing all day. I explained that she was crated as I was gone
for
the latter part of the afternoon and that upon coming home, the only other
place
she went was to the lake.
Vita’s
eyes were fixed and dilated and the Vet suggested there was already
brain
damage. After administering an IV and oxygen, the Vet called me in
and
said Vita was not responding and that it appeared that she was suffering
from
some kind of toxic poisoning. Her heart rate was 200. He mentioned that
he
had recently seen a couple of dogs who died from Blue Green Algae Toxicity. I
told
him that the lake had what appeared to be algae blooms on the
surface
of the water. Neither of the other two dogs showed any of the signs that
Vita
had and that neither dog took in as much water as Vita apparently did. We
decided
to put her on a ventilator overnight and give her a "chance" to pull through.
When
I got home I did a Dogpile.com search of "Blue Green Algae Toxicity in
Dogs"
and found some very disturbing
information.
-Blooms
can occur at any time, but most often occur in late summer or early
fall.
They can occur in marine, estuarine, and fresh waters, but the
blooms
of greatest concern are the ones that occur in fresh water, such as drinking
water
reservoirs or recreational waters.
-Some
cyanobacterial blooms can look like foam, scum, or mats on the
surface
of fresh water lakes and ponds. The blooms can be blue, bright green,
brown,
or red and may look like paint floating on the water. Some blooms may not
affect
the appearance of the water. As algae in a cyanobacterial bloom
die,
the water may smell bad.
-Some
cyanobacteria that can form CyanoHABs (Harmful Algal Blooms) produce
toxins
that are among the most powerful natural poisons known. These
toxins
have no known antidotes.
-Swallowing
water that has cyanobacterial toxins in it can cause acute,
severe
gastroenteritis (including diarrhea and
vomiting).
-Liver
toxicity (i.e., increased serum levels of liver enzymes).
Symptoms
of liver poisoning may takes hours or days to show up in people or animals.
Symptoms
include abdominal pain, diarrhea, and
vomiting.
-Kidney
toxicity.
-Neurotoxicity.
These symptoms can appear within 15 to 20 minutes after
exposure.
In dogs, the neurotoxins can cause salivation and other
neurologic
symptoms, including weakness, staggering, difficulty breathing,
convulsions,
and death. People may have numb lips, tingling fingers and toes, or they may
feel
dizzy.
Vita
had indeed exhibited salivation and signs of weakness, staggering,
difficulty
breathing and vomiting.
At
7:00 a.m. on Tuesday, June 26, 2007 I called the Vet and was told that
they
took Vita off the ventilator a couple of times during the night and
that
she was not breathing on her own. I told him to discontinue the procedure
and
to let her go.
I
called the DNR here in Michigan and was told that Blue Green Algae didn’t
usually
appear this time of year and I told the agent that the
conditions
were that of late summer in Michigan, very hot for the last two days and
reminded
him that Blue Green Algae can appear at any time. He told me not to
panic
or to alarm other people. I told him that had someone else panicked, we
wouldn't
be having this conversation right now.
Later
that morning I found out from a neighbor that her two young boys had
vomiting,
diarrhea and stomach cramps last week and her Doctor suggested
she
bring in a water sample. I do not
know if she did or not.
I
also talked to a woman from a neighboring county whose neighbor’s dog
ingested
a lot of water from a pond and died suddenly a couple weeks ago.
As
of this writing, Wednesday, June 27th, I have not heard anything from
Michigan
State where I took Vita for a necropsy and toxicological panel.
For
the time being, I would strongly suggest you watch your dogs when
swimming
in small lakes and ponds as the potential threat of toxic
poisoning
from Blue Green Algae is prevalent. Had I known that algae of any kind was
toxic,
you
can be sure my dogs wouldn’t be
swimming anywhere and that Vita, whose name
quite
ironically meant "life" in Latin, would be alive today.
Missing
you more than you can imagine.
May
you rest in peace, Red Top Vita
09/05/06
- 06/26/07
Bob
Tatus
5997
Mabley Hill Road
Fenton,
Michigan 48430
248-255-2111
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