North Carolina, USA: A couple of hours after 3 dogs went for a swim and got contact with toxic blue-green algae, they passed away.
Reports suggest that the 3 dogs were brought by their owners for a walk near a pond in Wilmington last week and allowed the dogs to go for a swim.
According to Melissa Martin and Denise Mintz, the owner of the dogs, one of their dogs had a seizure 15 minutes after it got out of the pond.
The couple rushed the dog to a vet hospital in the area, and when the couple arrived there, another dog started to have seizures.
Their third dog started to fall ill and started to show signs of liver failure after the couple arrived at the hospital.
All three dogs were confirmed dead by doctors at the hospital.
After the incident, Melissa and Denise want to educate other dog owners about the dangers of pets getting in touch with toxic blue-green algae.
According to the couple, the pond where the dogs went for a swim, did not have any signs that said the pond had toxic algae.
In a post that was made by the couple on Facebook, they said that their dogs passed away at 12:08 am.
The couple added, “They contracted blue green algae poisoning and there was nothing they could do. We are gutted. I wish I could do today over. I would give anything to have one more day with them. Harpo and I had work to do, but now we will carry on in his memory and we will make sure every standing body of water has a warning sign.”
Melissa said, “Abby and Izzy had the most fun tonight chasing the ball and each other and rolling in the mud. What started out as a fun night for them has ended in the biggest loss of our lives. We need your prayers. Not sure we’re strong enough to get through this without them. We are now on a mission to put signs at every body of water that can have this deadly bacteria.”
The couple has also started a GoFundMe fundraiser. The couple says, the money that will be donated is going to be used in raising awareness of the blue-green