Mycotoxicosis – Mushroom, Mold, Yeast Poisoning in Dogs

I took this from a post on a facebook page – it is a very sad story but the information it contains is vitally important for all dog and cat owners

10/2/2017 Last evening our dogs Dexter & Georgie very suddenly fell gravely ill, sending our world into turmoil. We are keen for awareness to be raised about what happened to these fur-babies. Here is their story.

I would like to share with you our last horrific 24 hours in a hope that it may bring awareness to those of you who may also be unaware of a danger we have in our gardens that is potentially fatal to our beloved dogs.. (or cats, although they probably would have more sense)

Yesterday our bins were emptied including the recycling food caddy. I always keep my food caddy up high or my dogs would find a way of getting to the contents. In my haste yesterday I put the bins back after they’d been emptied, replacing the food caddy (unwashed) to its usual position. In yesterday’s wind it must have blown down and one of my dogs licked clean the mould residue from the inside of the caddy.

What followed was one of the worst evenings of our lives. Dexter started convulsing and had severe tremors almost immediately and was unable to breathe, seeing the bin laying open in the garden I guessed he was poisoned, it was in fact toxic shock. Knowing my other dog had not been outside I scooped up Dexter and drove him to the vets, where he was unconscious on arrival. The vets were amazing and set to work trying to stabilise him.

We left for home and when we arrived we found our other dog in the same condition on the kitchen floor. In our earlier panic, we hadn’t seen that Dexter had been sick and Georgie had eaten it and the effects were the same. She too was unconscious by the time we arrived back at the vets.

The amazing Wheelhouse vets in Chesham (UK) worked well into the night with ‘Vets now’ in Hemel Hempsted whilst our beloved pets were in comas all night, keeping their hearts going as the infection attacked their insides. They informed us that it was unlikely they would survive this and to prepare for the worse as they were really very sick and being under anaesthetic for such a long period would probably cause brain damage.

By the grace of god and some pretty amazing people our fur babies did make it through the night and are out of their induced comas.

They aren’t out of the woods yet, one is far more poorly than the other. But it’s looking likely that Georgie will survive this. Dexter has a few more hurdles to cross as the toxins got in his lungs whilst he was unconscious, but we are praying that he will pull through this. He is currently in intensive care at The Royal Veterinary College & has made his 1st small improvement overnight.

I have many regrets because I love my dogs dearly and have spent their lives trying to keep them safe from things. I only wish I’d known the danger of mould in bread, and the residue it leaves behind. I would have never left this caddy in the back garden, even out of reach, had I realised just how poisonous this was to my animals. I will be reviewing my recycling procedures, lining my caddy and keeping it locked away.

Please be aware of this if you have dogs, so that hopefully this doesn’t happen to anyone else.

UPDATE 13/2/17 – from Wheelhouse Vets: We are sad to announce, that Dexter has lost his fight today and has been put to sleep. His scans from last night showed a blood clot to his spleen which has been breaking off and have travelled to his heart & lungs. Due to his already very fragile condition there was nothing further that could be done to help him.

There is a certain type of mould that is fatal, not all mould. This is the mould that comes from things such as bread, cheese, pasta, walnuts. Especially concentrated in a sealed environment such as a container. Mycotoxicosis is a term used to denote poisoning by food products contaminated by fungi (i.e., mouldy bread, cheese, English walnuts, or even a backyard compost). As well as being toxic to humans, fungi release various toxins, also called mycotoxins, that are toxic to cats and dogs.