Toxic Algae ALERT!

[Guest guest]

PLEASE CROSS-POST WIDELY

 

I received the following through one of the dog lists and thought

everyone would want to know about this now that the hotter weather is

upon us and people start taking their dogs to lakes as a way to cool

off and have fun...

 

 

It is with a very heavy heart that I write this and I apologize for its

length. Please, PLEASE pass this around.

 

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 BCs 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 wasnt 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.

 

Vitas 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

didnt

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 neighbors 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 toxoligical 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 wouldnt 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