Blue Green Algae Toxicity * Cross Post*

[BratBoxers]

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 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 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 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 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

PERMISSION TO CROSS-POST

[dobermom]

I just emailed this to the people who now have one of my fosters. Its Madison a Border Collie mix, they have a pond, and she LOVES it.

Thanks Tiff!

[Bosley Slave]

Thank you BB. What a sad thing to have happened, and for the authorities to ignore. Very informative and I have seen the red stuff in ponds. I am printing this out and keeping it. Our Golden Ret. loves the water and you can bet I'll be listening to the news and checking the appearance of the water next time he goes in.

[BratBoxers]

Your both very welcome! THis is ne of those freak things that does happen that ppl dont know about.

[agilitydog]

Thanks for the info. I am going to crosspost it as well.

[Luvmyjob]

Woah, scarey stuff, poor dog! I have a small pond, I am sooooo glad to have this information! Thanks .

[mara]

Oh my Gosh!!! How horrible! Thanks for posting Tiff.

[jnc_mcguire]

I am so sorry about your dog. I had listed that on the forum about the Blue Green Algae was toxic to dogs .If you go back in to Dog Heath -Gralic for worms-good or bad? I listed some warm weather Hazards. Plus what not to give to your dog in food wise. All so cold weather hazards. And non-toixic but can make your pet have a upset tummie. So we all need to make sure that there is no algae when we take them swimming.

[~WelshStump~]

Thank you so much for posting this information! We have a pond on our land that I've been toying with the idea of expanding it for a while now. I'll definitely make sure to watch out for this, but I guess I can be glad that Jinjo's not that fond of water anyway. Sorry for your loss, and at least you can and are educating others.

[golden&hovawart]

Found another article on it,offically warning people:
www.times-standard.com/ci_6231991?source=most_viewed
How very scary!!.