MyProblemDog

This story was forwarded to me this morning by a dog owner in Michigan.  It shows the importance of knowing what is in your yard.

On Tuesday evening, I received a call from a family who lives in Northern Michigan and has a pup from me.  They called to tell me that their 5 month old male pup, Nero, was gravely ill as a result of ingesting a poisonous mushroom earlier in the day.  Apparently he had ingested the mushroom while playing in the family backyard.  The owner saw him eat the mushroom, but at the time didn’t know whether or not it was poisonous.  She was concerned, though, so she called her vet, who recommended that she induce vomitting.  She did so immediately and then went to the vet’s office to have them administer activated charcoal just in case it was poisonous and there was still toxin remaining in his stomach.  She left him for observation.  Later that afternoon, the vet called to tell her that he was ok and that she could come and pick him up.  When she arrived at the vet’s office, though, he had begun to have seizures.  He was given valium, fluids and other supportive care.  After 24 hours, he started to improve.  He was able to stand, wag his tail, and eat a little.  Bloodwork showed that he had some liver damage, but it was not severe.  Apparently this is common in mushroom poisoning cases…there is a lull at the 24 hour mark and then the patient’s condition declines rapidly.  Everyone held out hope, however, that perhaps he had weathered the storm because he may only have had a small amount of toxin. 
 
Unfortunately, he took a turn for the worse today.  He started to show signs of serious neurological damage and his body began shutting down.  With no chance for survival and now suffering, they made the tough choice and put him down.  I tell you all this harrowing story because the mushroom he ingested was rather ordinary looking and found in the family’s backyard, not the woods or in some exotic locale.  It is believed to be a variant of the Destroying Angel/Death Angel mushrooms (specifically Amanita Bisporigera) that are apparently more common to the area than I ever thought.  I’ve since learned that there are a number of poisonous mushrooms throughout the U.S. that can cause a host of problems in dogs…everything from GI distress, to liver and renal failure, seizures, coma and even death.  The list of offenders is rather long. 
 
You can learn more about this particular mushroom and see photos here:
 
http://www.mushroomexpert.com/amanita_bisporigera.html
 
And for more info on the Genus Aminitas, go here:
 
http://pluto.njcc.com/~ret/amanita/mainaman.html
http://www.mushroomexpert.com/amanita.html
 
This genus of mushrooms is widespread across the upper midwest, pacific northwest, east coast and the California coast.  The toxin in these mushrooms is among the deadliest of toxins in nature, considered more deadly than rattlesnake venom.  And its growing in our backyards!  The scariest part is that if you don’t see the dog ingest the mushroom, once the symptoms develop it is too late for treatment.  Symptoms do not begin until 6-24 hours after the mushroom is ingested and by then, it is too late to treat.  So, go look at your yards and get rid of any mushrooms you find.  And if you see your dog ingest one, don’t wait…induce vomitting and get to the vet immediately.
 
I suspect that the mushroom Nero’s owner saw him eat was not the one that actually killed him.  He probably ate one earlier that morning, liked the taste and came back for more later, when she finally saw him eating it.  That would explain why inducing vomitting and the charcoal didn’t help him.  By that point, it was probably already too late.  5 hours after she saw him eat the mushroom is when the symptoms began.
 
Its horrible that this family had to lose their pup, but perhaps it won’t be an complete waste if the result is that we’re aware of the dangers of mushrooms.  I know I’ll be more diligent about keeping my yard and exercise area free of them, and I will be sure to warn others as well.  I combed my exercise area and found 7 variants of mushrooms…two of which I believe may be poisonous.  I did not find any aminitas, but I know I have seen them before.