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55 °F Forecast | Road Cams Friday, September 10, 2004 Today's News | Classifieds | Autos | Homes | Jobs | Tempo | Health | Community | Home Delivery SECTIONS Home Page Local News Sports Business Obituaries Life Opinion - Politics Tempo AP News Weather Classified Archives Site Map SPECIAL SECTIONS Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Prime Times Wellness Connection Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Wedding Guide Rogue Valley's Finest EXTRA Newspaper in Education Personals Movie Times TV Times E The People MARKETPLACE Find a Car Find a Home Find a Job Classifieds Place an ad eSouthernOregon Automotive Communities Entertainment Publications Recreation Calendar CUSTOMER SERVICE Frequent Questions Advertising Information Home Delivery Employment Contact Us Media Kit Network Affiliate Oregon Road Conditions & Cams Email Story to a Friend August 7, 2004 Christy Calder of Talent almost lost her dog, Josie, a 6-month-old collie/terrier mix that became ill after gulping water from Lake of the Woods. Mail Tribune / Roy Musitelli Beware, dogs — there’s lake algae out there By PAUL FATTIG Mail Tribune Christy Calder likes to take her dog, Josie, an energetic border collie/terrier mix, to mountain lakes on hot summer days. The 6-month-old pooch loves to romp along the shore and splash in the water. "That’s one of her fun things to do," Calder said, noting the dog will invariably pause to guzzle water from the lake on a hot day. Advertisement But it nearly killed Josie on July 31 when Calder and a friend took the pooch to Lake of the Woods. After drinking heavily from the edge of the lake, Josie, whom Calder described as extremely healthy, quickly became ill with what a Medford veterinarian says was likely a toxic reaction to ingesting a large quantity of blue-green algae. "I was trying to teach her to swim," said Calder, who lives in Talent. "She was running around the lake, having a great time, then she went down — all in less than an hour. "At first, she threw up a bunch of clear water which was normal," she added. "She spit up again, then lay down. That wasn’t normal." Josie quickly fell into periods of unconsciousness, Calder said. She and her friend, a nurse, took Josie to the Lakeway Veterinary Hospital in Medford where Wayne Dollarhide treated the 32-pound animal. Although Dollarhide, a veterinarian for 38 years, described Josie’s condition as "somewhat in recovery" when she arrived, thanks to her having regurgitated the algae water, he noted she had a close call. He gave her an intravenous injection to rehydrate her, and she was well enough to go home that night. "But I’ve had some in the past that didn’t make it to the hospital," he said, noting Josie’s case was the first he had seen in the last couple of years. "It’s something that is a fact of life around here any time there is still or slow-moving water and hot temperatures," he said of the potential for an algae bloom that can make dogs sick. However, what may be dangerous for dogs may not be dangerous to people, he observed. "This requires a dog to ingest a fair amount of water, something that people don’t do," he said. "When this happens, it’s usually young dogs who like to lap up a lot of water. We’re talking about any shallows in a lake or slow-moving stream around here." How does a dog owner avoid the problem during hot weather? "Keep your dog out of the water," Dollarhide said. Algae blooms in Southern Oregon lakes and slow-moving streams are not unusual during the heat of summer, he said. For instance, Diamond Lake was temporarily closed to swimmers and water skiers last summer by the U.S. Forest Service because of a toxic algae bloom, he noted. Visitors were also urged to keep their pets away from the lake. The Forest Service bans swimming and wading in local lakes when levels hit 15,000 cells per milliliter, and a full ban on boating kicks in when levels hit 100,000 cells per milliliter. No closures have been required this year in local mountain lakes. No other pets have been reported ill from ingesting toxic algae this summer. Known as Anabaena flos-aquae, the microscopic blue-green algae can cause numbness, tingling sensations and nausea in people, but no known human deaths have been attributed to it locally, according to health experts. The algae, which grow under hot and windless conditions, generally dissipate during cool, windy days like the kind that Southern Oregonians have enjoyed in the last few days. But hot weather is expected to return by Sunday, according to the National Weather Service. For Calder, who had a dog she owned for many years die of old age a year ago, last week’s experience was a sobering one. "I thought Josie was going to die on the way to the vet," she said. "But she’s fine now." Reach reporter Paul Fattig at 776-4496 or e-mail him at [email protected] Mail Tribune Home Local News | Sports | Business | Obituaries | Life Opinion - Politics | AP News | Archives | Site Map E Southern Oregon | Classified Copyright © 1997-2004 Mail Tribune. All rights reserved. Privacy Policy | Terms & Conditions Website Feedback ADVERTISERS A D V E R T I S E R S SPECIAL SECTIONS Auto Finder Job Finder Home Finder Joy Magazine Homelife Magazine Tempo Readers' Choice Real Estate Showcase Since We Asked Outdoor Journal Moving to Southern Oregon? Volunteer Opportunities