Gail Fisher, All Dogs Gym & Inn - The perfect place for pets and their people

N.H. Sunday News - Dog Tracks Column
By: Gail T. Fisher
 

An email alert in my Inbox from the “Whole Dog Journal” (www.whole-dog-journal.com, 800-829-9165) caught my attention: “Freshwater ponds, lakes and streams could be deadly to your water dog if they contain toxins borne by blue-green algae [Cyanobacteria].

“If the water where your dog swims looks cloudy, with a green or blue-green cast, you should suspect a dangerous overgrowth of blue-green algae, and prevent your dog from ingesting the water.

“Whole Dog Journal has confirmed a recent report, currently in wide circulation in dog-related e-mail lists, from a Michigan dog owner whose nine-month-old Border Collie, Vita, died shortly after swimming in a pond near Fenton, Michigan.”

The article went on to say in part, “The emergency vet told the dog’s owner that he had recently seen other dogs die of blue-green algae toxicity – a condition that can kill pets, livestock, and people who drink the contaminated water. ‘Had I ever heard of the danger of blue-green algae, I never would have allowed my dogs to swim in that or any other pond; I would have bought a pool,’ the owner told Whole Dog Journal.

“However, when the man whose dog died this week in Michigan contacted his state’s Department of Natural Resources, looking for more information about the dangerous algae, he says he was told that the toxic blooms rarely occur except in late summer, and not to either panic or panic other people. ‘Had someone else panicked, we wouldn’t be having this conversation right now,’ the grieving owner told the state representative.

“Dog owners should be aware that toxic algae blooms usually occur in late summer or early fall, but can occur at any time. They can occur in marine, estuarine, and (especially) fresh water. The latter are of the greatest concern to dog owners, as dogs are commonly taken to ponds, lakes, and reservoirs in the summer for recreation, exercise, and cooling -- and they routinely drink the water. Some of these algae blooms look like foam, scum, or mats on the surface of the water. The blooms can be blue, bright green, brown, or red (‘red tide’ is perhaps the best-known so-called ‘harmful algal bloom’) – but some blooms may not affect the appearance of the water. The water may or may not smell bad. As a further difficulty to dog owners trying to protect their dogs, not all algal blooms are toxic!”

After reading this article, I contacted the NH Department of Environmental Services (DES), and spoke with Jody Connor, Limnology Center Director to ask about our ponds and lakes in New Hampshire, and if this is something dog owners need to be aware of.

We sure do! A few years ago, a horse died after drinking toxic water from a Pond in Pittsfield. In fact, New Hampshire was the first state in the nation to issue public beach advisories. This is not a local or US problem; it is world-wide. In 1998, the World Health Organization published a drinking water guideline value for one cyanotoxin.

Quoting from an article Jody wrote that he kindly shared with me, “Severe blooms impact the tourism industry as people avoid lakes with unsightly pea soup or bluish green colored scums and foul odors. In some cases, the blooms may cover the entire water body but in most cases, you will find them congregated as large scums on the windward shoreline. In severe cases, the high cell count leads to low dissolved oxygen, increased ammonia which cause fish kills.

Even without seeing the “severe case”, the bottom line is that we need to be extremely cautious when taking our dogs swimming. Contact the DES Limnology Center at (603) 271-3414 or the cyanobacteria hotline at 603-419-9229 if you suspect a cyanobacteria bloom at your lake or pond, and collect a sample (if possible) for the DES to examine.

To learn more about this subject, Jody has given me permission to post his article on my website.

Green Scums Can Ruin a Day at the Beach: New Hampshire's Response to Toxic Cyanobacteria By Jody Connor, Limnology Center Director (PDF)

Copyright © Gail T. Fisher, 2007. All rights reserved. http://www.alldogsgym.com
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