Special Happy Pets

Margie's Story on what happened that tragic morning

It was Tuesday, September 29,2009.I let out our two Papillons and my 4 pound Chihuahua "Brutus",out in our fienced in back yard for their morning buisness.They came in within minutes and ate breakfast at 8:10 am.Within 60 seconds Brutus vomited a small amount of food and began to whine.I picked him up and put him inside my fluffy robe.He continued to whine for just a few more seconds and them let out a scream. A really loud cry ,then another. A cry I never want to hear again.I put him down. He would not move.He was like a statue standing in pain.Then he vomited up all his food. I gathered it up in a papertowel.I knew his vet want to see it.What I saw shocked me...mushrooms.There were bits and pices,all black on one side and white on the other side.I have never seen black mushrooms in our yard so I believe the stomach acid changed the color to black.The smell was unmistakable.There was a strong stinch of mushrooms. At 8:15 am. I called my best friend,because I felt myself panic.She was on her way to take us to the vet.I put Brutus,who wasin severe pain,in his tiny kennel.I ran upstairs to get dressed.I grabbed my tiny four pound Chihuahua and ran to the end of the street,waiting for my ride.I knew the clinic opened at 9 am.,so I called and left a distress message.By 8:40 we were flying to to my vet.In route Brutus took a turn for the worse.His eyes had a blank stare,pupils wide and dilated.He did not move.As we approached the clinic,I could not tell if he was still breathing.He looked dead! I called the vet again with another 911 distress call.I said,"Brutus is dying please unlock the door and get ready we are almost there." As I ran in the door and they grabbed Brutus and flew into the back room. Later, I was told there were three vets on duty.They all stopped and worked franticly to save his life. My friend and I waited behind closed doors.All was quiet.His vet did not come out and give me the report right away. I knew he was critical. It seems like hours.The longer it took,the more ominous it was.I prayed that God would save him. A verse that came to mind,"For to those who love God,who are called in his Name,everything works out for good".I kept praying and crying.I kept thinking about the poison mushrooms in my yard. Why? Why did I not think they could be poison? Why did I not think a dog would eat something poison? Did they not have a sense that it was poison? I thought they knew by instinct.The two year old Papillons never ate one.The Chihuahua was  one year old.He never ate one before now. Why now? I had been so naive,so stupid,I should have known better.I do not know how long until Dr.Dudas was able to give me the report,he was still alive,but serious.He had to be transfered to the big Emergency Trauma Hospital,seven minutes away.They handed me my sick little baby boy.He had shaved front legs and neck.He had an IV in place with a bag of fluid. He was so very lethargic.He did reconize me.I thanked God! This was a miracle! Dr.Dudas told me he had no blood pressure and basically not breathing on admission.She was able to get into his jugular vein and give him Atropine,to start him breathing. My girlfriend,Betty raced us to the Trauma Unit.Again he was scooped up and was admitted.I was sent home.

OUTCOME...Brutus was able to come home the following evening.They could do no more.By the third day he beganto bounce back.He was eating,playing,and slowly acting normal.His lab values were abnormal,indicating internal organ damage.His vet has been monitoring him closely.His kidneys were rebounding slowly.There was much concern about his outcome.He remained on a low protine diet.After 7 weeks his kidneys are healing.Whatever the damage,we feel he will live a happy, long life.He is still being monitored and his next visit is in 3 to 6 months.He had less than a 10% chance of getting through this alive. Dr.Dudas did research on toxic mushrooms in our area, because of Brutus.What she said was it was rare for a dog to survive after eating mushrooms.For a tiny 4 pound Chihuahua to survive is nothing short of a miracle!

Our back yard is half shaded with tall pine trees and half grass and sun.The ground under the pines is shaded,moist and woody.This is perfect medium for mushrooms.We have dozens of mushrooms,so which one he ate I will never know.I have tried to identify all the mushrooms that grow under my pines....but it is impossible without an expert . There are 2 to 8 inches of mulch and pine straw in the area.Mushrooms can hide under the straw,invisible to the eyes.A dog can and willroot them out,without us knowing it.We have now fienced off the pine tree area. None of the dogs are allowed there.We patrol the yard looking for all kinds of mushrooms that might pop up in our grass almost daily. We now have to fience off the area under our deck.We found mushrooms there! We do not let Brutus out of our sight without supervision. We have a potty box for him in the basement and are forced to keep him inside more than we would like.I am trying to find a size 0 muzzel for him.One that would fit his entire mouth area and prevent him from grabbing a snack on a walk! Assume all mushrooms are poison.I pray this never happens to you.        Margaret Combs

Downingtown,Pa.