When two dogs in the same household get sick at the same time, what is the first thing you suspect? Did they get into something they shouldn’t? Did they catch an infection?
Rosie and Ruby are housemates. Rosie is 5-years-old and Ruby is 7 months. They are happy, healthy Labrador Retrievers.
One night, right after supper Rosie started drooling excessively and stagger around. Rosies mom, worried, took her to a vet immediately. The vet immediately suspected poisoning.
What did Rosie get into?
Leaving Rosie at the vet for urgent treatment, her mom went back home. She was going to check for any poisons Rosie might have gotten into. As she arrived, she found Ruby showing the same symptoms as Rosie; she loaded her up as well and hurried back to the clinic.
Ruby looked even sicker than Rosie did.
She couldn’t walk at all and was howling, barking and snapping at the air. It looked as if she was having hallucinations.
Rosie and Ruby received aggressive treatment for poisoning
Poor girls had to throw up to get rid of any poison that might still have been in their stomach. They were medicated to calm down and to get through the ordeal comfortably. Ruby was also injected with a compound to bind to the poison in her bloodstream.
After that, they were transferred to an emergency hospital where they could be monitored and cared for overnight.
They both recovered after 24 hours.
But what did make them both so sick? Ther mom searched for anything poisonous they might have gotten into but found nothing. Didn’t find any rat poison, no slug bait, no nothing at all. What could it have been?
Because it happened in the fall, the only logical answer to that was to suspect poisonous mushrooms.
Most mushrooms are either edible, harmless or could cause an upset stomach. Only very few are actually toxic. One group that belongs to the dangerous category are what are generally known magic mushrooms.
The signs of magic mushroom poisoning reflect the signs and symptoms Rosie and Ruby had.
Rosie and Rubys mom didn’t find any such mushrooms. But she discovered evidence of the girls feasting on a compost pile.
Do you know which mushrooms in your yard could poison your dog?
Original story:
Ghillie aged 5 and Mzungu aged 7 months
Related articles:
Symptoms To Watch For In Your Dog: Excessive Drooling
Symptoms to Watch for in Your Dog: Drunken Gait, Ataxia