Blue Green Algae Toxicity
Blue-green algae blooms may look like thick pea soup, or green paint, or a big clump of seaweed type grass and they can be found on lakes and ponds. Most of these blooms are harmless, but there are times when these blooms can sometimes produce neurotoxins that are dangerous. If these neurotoxins are ingested in a large enough quantity, they can cause liver problems or death to your pet. If you take your pet to the lake or pond, be on the look out for this algae and if you see any present, reign on the side of caution and do not allow your pet to swim in these waters.
The story
below is about a man namd Bob Tatus who lost his beloved Border Collie from blue-green algae
toxicity. Our thoughts and prayers go out to
Bob Tatus and Vita
Bob Tatus
Fenton, Michigan
PERMISSION TO CROSS-POST
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 neurological
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
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