Three dogs have died recently after swimming in Lady Bird Lake. The City of Austin is conducting tests to see if algae and water samples contain neurotoxins that could poison dogs.
Mia Mineghino is one of the residents who lost her dog, Koda. The last time she took Koda swimming at Red Bud Isle in Lady Bird Lake there were no warning signs near the parking lot. She assumed it was safe. Now she’s waiting, along with thousands of other dog owners, to find out if the blue-green algae in the water could be poisonous.
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Their last visit was a month ago. Koda played and swam near Red Bud Isle and then got in the car with Mineghino to drive home. Mineghino said:
“We were on the street here and I knew something was wrong. He couldn’t hold himself up. He tried to stand up and his legs, he couldn’t use his legs. So, I got to the vet and ran inside, and I asked for help. I said my dog is dying. Something is wrong with my dog. Somebody come help me.”1
Within minutes of reaching the vet, he said two-year-old Koda was brain dead. Mineghino said:
“I couldn’t believe it, so I said what are you telling me right now? What does this mean? She said we need to talk about letting him go. It was shocking. We went there every day. He played. He loved to swim.”1
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Koda is one of three dogs that have died in recent weeks after swimming at Red Bud Isle. City officials attribute the deaths to the possible presence of a neurotoxin in the water at Lady Bird Lake. The toxin is produced by a kind of blue-green algae that has been spotted there.
The specific type of algae, which is covering about 40% of the surface of the water there, has never before been documented in Austin. It has accumulated in large clumps at Red Bud Isle. Additional testing is being done to determine toxicity and any risk to humans. According to Dr. Albert Gros, chief medical officer at St. David’s South Austin Medical Center:
“Some species of this bacteria can actually produce what’s called a neurotoxin, a nerve poison. It’s my understanding that these animals became paralyzed, had difficulty breathing and then went into cardiac arrest simply because their nerves were poisoned by this algae byproduct.”1
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Dogs drink the water and potentially swallow bits of the algae and, within minutes, they can start showing signs that they’ve been poisoned, according to medical experts. The cause of the dogs’ deaths has not been determined, but all died shortly after swimming in Lady Bird Lake. The city has not confirmed that the dogs’ deaths were definitively connected to the algae, but officials recently said they have no reason not to believe the pet owners’ accounts.
Mineghino said her vet couldn’t explain why Koda died. There were no wounds or snake bites, and the 2-year-old dog was perfectly healthy. As soon as she heard the symptoms and timing for algae poisoning, everything matched up. Now, Mineghino wants her heartbreak over her beautiful Koda to make other dog owners keep their pets out of Lady Bird Lake until the algae and water test results come back.
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In the meantime, Red Bud Isle is closed to the public. Pet owners are advised not to let their dogs in the water at Lady Bird Lake or surrounding creeks and streams.
We’ve been writing about this issue in Florida for a while. And now it is happening in Texas and other states. It is extremely sad and needs to be taken seriously. Our thoughts and prayers go out to all the pet owners who have lost their beloved four-legged family members.
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