Forwarded message - for info, please contact miti@juno.com

Mushrooms in your yard can poison your dog or cat

Below is an announcement our vet sent out today. With a heavy heart I am forwarding this to the lists I belong to because one of the two dogs referenced below was our beloved 2 year old Boxer Rudy that went to the bridge on Friday morning after an excrutitating night at the emergency clinic. Necropsy verified his cause of death. He was only outside unattended for less than two hours on Thursday afternoon. We had been picking mushrooms all summer from the backyard, but new ones crop up within hours. Our dogs are now only let outside after a thorough check of the yard ( we have been averaging five or six mushrooms per check) and with someone watching and immediately bringing them in after doing their business.

Please check your yards and be ever so vigilant about these killer mushrooms. Rudy started vomiting at around 9:30 pm and by 10:30 he was noticebly uncomfortable. By midnight the emergency clinic had him on IV's, pain medicine, anti nausea medications. His bloodwork
at one am only showed slightly elevated liver levels, so they didn't think toxins. When I picked him up at 8 that morning to take him to my vet, he could barely walk and they thought it was possibly a telescoped bowel. My vet thought so too when she saw him, but was waiting for more blood results when he crashed. After the necropsy she asked if we had been having any mushroom in our yard, because he presented like the first dog that died two years ago. I hope this makes sense. It is hard to write with the tears still falling.

Please take heed of the warning. I feel like I failed Rudy because I didn't make sure he had a safe environment to play. I could not stand to hear that another dog suffered like he did because another owner did not know the danger of these mushrooms.

Mickie Jost

Dear Clients,

I hope you and your furry family members are doing well and enjoying the cooler weather.
I am writing this not to panic you, but to make you aware of a potentially deadly problem in your yards. This is the time of year when mushrooms will start popping up and most will not cause a
problem. However, I have seen 2 dogs die in the past 2 years after coming in contact with mushrooms from the Amanita family. Only a few in this family are toxic, but the ones that are will cause rapid liver failure and death. The dog does not have to ingest the mushroom, only come in contact with it and then lick it's paws. My suggestion to you is to remove any mushrooms in your yard as often as you can to avoid any problem. Two dogs in 2 years is not an epidemic, but my hope is not to see any more pets die from this. Please wear gloves when dealing with the mushrooms and wash your hands well, as these are toxic to humans as well.
The Internet has a wealth of information on this at http://www.ansci.cornell.edu/plants/toxicagents/amanita/amanita.html
or I will be happy to try to answer any questions you may have. As always, we appreciate you and wish you an enjoyable autumn.

Sincerely,
Kim Morey, DVM
Woodland Trails Animal Hospital

Posted on SHARE Yahoo group 9/19/2002