About two weeks ago, an inquisitive 4-month-old puppy ate something she found in the garden of her family’s home in Victoria.
Within 36 hours, she was dead.
On October 13th, Peter Ronald took to Twitter to share the tragic story of how his puppy, Luna, became ill and passed away after ingesting fatal Amanita phalloides or “death cap” mushrooms that had been growing in a corner of his garden.
See also: Puppy dies at Victoria Humane Society after ingesting mushrooms
Unfortunately, Luna is not the first puppy to succumb to the poisonous fungi this year.
Back in September, a chocolate brown lab puppy was surrendered to the Victoria Humane Society after consuming death cap mushrooms and despite best efforts, passed away within 24 hours.
In 2016, a 3-year-old boy died after consuming a death cap mushroom while foraging for wild mushrooms with his family in downtown Victoria.
This latest incident of an innocent puppy falling prey to the Amanita phalloides has renewed a call for vigilance, as death cap mushrooms are particularly lethal to children and pets.
Anyone who suspects they may have consumed a death cap mushroom is asked to go to their nearest hospital immediately, call the BC Drug and Poison Information Centre at 1-800-567-8911 or call 911, and keep a sample of the mushroom for testing.
