[Connie]

My neighbors son and his wife went to a lake in Minnesota last weekend. They had their dog, Bosley, a black lab 10 month old puppy with them. Bosley loved the water and they would throw a frisbee into the water and Bosley would retrieve it. After doing that for a while, Bosley came out of the water and collapsed, having uncontrollable diarrhea and vomiting and he appeared to be having a seizure. They immediately took him and headed for the nearest vet, which was quite a distance from where they were. Bosley died in less than an hour of his first symptoms, in his mom's arms, before they even got to the vet. So sad! My heart aches for them.

It turns out his death was caused by blue-green algae which blooms in the lakes or ponds when the conditions have been favorable such as hot, dry weather in warm, nutrient rich water. Most likely, Bosely swallowed water when retrieving the frisbee and it is so highly toxic that even if they had gotten him to the vet in time, there would be nothing they could do...there is no known antidote. I did a search on blue-green algae and it's surprising how many lakes and ponds have this problem...all over the world...the only place that hasn't had this is Antarctica. Not all lakes and ponds have this toxic algae but if you notice dead fish or wildlife around or near the pond or lake, you can be pretty sure it is infected. If Bosely had only gone in the lake and not swallowed any water, he would have symptoms of runny eyes and nose and skin problems, but he wouldn't have died. It is also harmful to humans, especially children, but not usually deadly to them.

Be very cautious around any lakes or ponds with your pups! I had NEVER heard of this and just wanted to warn you all about a scary thing. Dogs that drink from contaminated lakes or ponds are usually dead within a half hour. I guess, if you see any kind of algae floating on a lake, keep your dog away. It probably isn't the toxic kind, but better safe than sorry!