Pet dog almost died following swim in river
A Stirling woman this week issued a warning after her pet dog almost died following a walk.
Dawn Green’s two-year Labrador became seriously ill after swimming in the Allan Water at Laighhills Park, Dunblane.
The dog was diagnosed with poisoning caused by blue-green algae, a bacteria which appears in lakes, ponds and slow-moving streams in summer and is toxic to dogs and harmful to humans.
Dawn believes her pet came into contact with the algae while practising his water retrieval skills in the Allan Water.
The dog became seriously ill the following night.
Dawn said: “It was quite severe. I could see that he was slightly under the weather during the day but then through the night he was in quite a bit of pain.
“He was crying all night long and was being sick. It was very distressing hearing him crying in pain all night long.
“I didn’t even look for algae in the water before he went in. It’s not something that I was conscious of.”
A trip to the vet saw Dawn’s beloved dog undergo treatment, including injections that left her with an almost £70 bill. The lab was diagnosed by the vet with bluegreen algae poisoning.
Dawn added: “It can effect the liver and kidneys and it could have potentially have taken the life of a dog.
“I’d hate anyone else to have a dog affected by it. It was traumatic to see the dog rolling around in pain.”
Following the incident, staff at Scottish Environment Protection Agency SEPA) carried out an investigation but could find no traces of the algae at the stretch