SCAPPOOSE Ore. (KPTV) – A Scappoose woman is still in shock after losing her beloved border collie Jax to what she believes was poisoning from toxic algae on Aug. 4.
“I guess that’s the message I’d want to get out is how fast this happened,” Tanya Bachman said. “You don’t have time to get it to an emergency veterinarian, to have any kind of treatment happen.”
Earlier this month, Bachman, her family and three dogs were across from downtown St. Helens on Sand Island, when she says Jax drank water from the Columbia River, then quickly became ill, vomited, then began seizing before losing consciousness and eventually succumbing to what appears to be the result of a toxic blue-green algae bloom.
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“We only hear about it in the Willamette River or channel you don’t hear about it in the Columbia,” Bachman said. “They say there’s so much rushing water there it doesn’t happen. So, when he got sick so quickly it shocked me.”
Bachman posted about the loss of her dog on several social media platforms which gained plenty of attention, especially with pet owners and veterinary clinics in the area that have since reached out to the Oregon Health Authority to investigate this matter further.
In a statement regarding the potential bloom, the OHA told FOX 12 Oregon:
“A water sample was collected in that area on Monday – unrelated to the reported dog death, but rather as part of a routine monitoring effort – and the agencies are still awaiting laboratory results. Depending on those results, additional samples may be taken by OHA’s Oregon partners or by our Washington counterparts, who would work with their local (county) agency partners to do sample collection. If toxin results come back with detections, we will work with interstate and interagency partners to develop a sampling plan to identify where the cyanotoxins are coming from.”
As for Bachman, she hopes sharing the loss of her loved one will open eyes and spread awareness about the dangers of toxic blooms in any areas frequented by pets and humans alike.
“I would say have signs posted, maybe if it’s been warm for a while know this can happen,” Bachman said. “Keep your dogs home. I know people that won’t let their dogs in the channel from June to September for this very reason.”
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