Mushroom Poisonings of Dogs on the Rise?
I just wrote a short article for another website about mushroom poisoning in dogs. In the article I stated that it is a fairly rare event (and I still think it is). But, wouldn’t you know it, not everyone agrees.
An article entitled More Dogs Sickened by Mushrooms appeared today at a Denver news channel website. Blame it on the rain (and there has been a lot of that along the Colorado front range recently).
According to one dog owner, “I knew mushrooms were poisonous, but before this episode, I didn’t put two and two together and know that dogs can eat them and get pretty sick or die from it.”
Apparently there have been more reported dog poisonings from mushrooms in the last three weeks, than there were all of last year in one Denver veterinary hospital.
The article goes on to say “Mushrooms, when ingested by dogs, can break down their central nervous systems.” Huh? Dog metabolisms are different than those of humans for sure, but I am not aware of too many mushrooms that kill by “breaking down the nervous system.” An authoritative webpage from the University of Hawaii called Poisonous Mushrooms discusses some nervous system affects, but not “breakdown.”
What do you think? Are dog poisonings on the rise?
Tags: Colorado, dogs, mushroom poisoning
I’ve been called on four dog mushroom poisonings so far this Summer of 2009 in upstate New York. One resulted in death; one in serious illness but full recovery. Two symptomless cases resulted from early vomiting or nontoxic mushrooms. Hard to say though, whether this represents an increase in poisonings, increased awareness, more people getting hold of my phone number, or just wet weather. It’s been a very mushroomy Summer here.