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Posted by Jackie Cross posted. please pass on. On Monday, June 25, 2007 I took my healthy 9 month old Border Collie Vita The temperature that day was just over 90 degrees, but none of the dogs looked Vita emerged from the water and looked as if she was going to vomit. She threw After the third time throwing up, she lay down and closed her eyes. Her tongue Vita was not responsive and when I picked her up to put her in the car she was Vita's eyes were fixed and dilated and the Vet suggested there was already brain When I got home I did a Dogpile.com search of "Blue Green Algae Toxicity in -Blooms can occur at any time, but most often occur in late summer or early -Some cyanobacterial blooms can look like foam, scum, or mats on the surface of -Some cyanobacteria that can form CyanoHABs (Harmful Algal Blooms) produce -Swallowing water that has cyanobacterial toxins in it can cause acute, severe -Liver toxicity (i.e., increased serum levels of liver enzymes). Symptoms of -Kidney toxicity. -Neurotoxicity. These symptoms can appear within 15 to 20 minutes after Vita had indeed exhibited salivation and signs of weakness, staggering, At 7:00 a.m. on Tuesday, June 26, 2007 I called the Vet and was told that they I called the DNR here in Michigan and was told that Blue Green Algae didn't Later that morning I found out from a neighbor that her two young boys had I also talked to a woman from a neighboring county whose neighbor's dog ingested As of this writing, Wednesday, June 27th, I have not heard anything from For the time being, I would strongly suggest you watch your dogs when swimming Missing you more than you can imagine. Bob Tatus PERMISSION TO CROSS-POST
on 6/29/2007, 8:17 pm
70.8.3.32
From: Golden Retrievers.
Warning for Dogs that Swim
It is with a very heavy heart that I write this and I apologize for its length.
Please, PLEASE pass this around.
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.
particularly winded or hot.
up lake water three times. I wasn'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.
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.
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.
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.
Dogs" and found some very disturbing information.
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.
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.
toxins that are among the most powerful natural poisons known. These toxins
have no known antidotes.
gastroenteritis (including diarrhea and vomiting).
liver poisoning may takes hours or days to show up in people or animals.
Symptoms
include abdominal pain, diarrhea, and vomiting.
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.
difficulty breathing and vomiting.
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.
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.
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.
a lot of water from a pond and died suddenly a couple weeks ago.
Michigan State where I took Vita for a necropsy and toxoligical panel.
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.
May you rest in peace, Red Top Vita
09/05/06 - 06/26/07.
5997 Mabley Hill Road
Fenton , Michigan 48430
248-255-2111
www.goldenoakretrievers.com
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