Deer Poop-A word of warning

[Diana Erhart]

I imagine that there are lots of dogs out there that eat deer poop and are fine.  But this is a true story that happened to my neighbor two days ago and wanted to pass it along.  Our neighbor has a 7 year old golden retriever.  They have an electric fence.  The mother walked 2 houses down the street to meet her little boy at the school bus in the afternoon.  She noticed Goldie (the GR) digging and sticking her face in the ground but didn't think anything of it as Goldie likes to dig in the yard.  After the bus came and she walked back into her yard (about 10-15 minutes) she noticed Goldie foaming at the mouth severely.  And then explosive diahrrea started.  It was coming out both ends...vomiting, foaming, diahrrea.  She immediately called the vet and rushed Goldie there.  By the time she got there Goldie could not stand up.  The vet techs had to carry her into the building on a stretcher.  They noticed deer poop in her vomit and the Mom realized that what Goldie had been doing in the yard was eating a big pile of deer poop.  The vet was able to stablize Goldie and she is on major antibiotics and medicines to coat her stomach.  She was also severely dehydrated (of course).  The vet said she was about 2 minutes away from dying when she got there.  So please...this is a warning...be aware of when your dog eats deer poop and immediately watch for any of these signs.  I don't know if there is something going on with the deer around our neighborhood or if it was something specific to Goldie, but I am on the deer poop high alert!

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Some very serious diseases are spread through deer poop, including prion disease and various forms of chronic wasting disease: http://www.redorbit.com/news/science/1750675/study_deer_may_spread_...

It is dangerous to humans, too.

[Diana Erhart]

Thank you for the link, Karen.  That made me remember something in our local newspaper a few days ago about CWD but I didn't know what it meant and didn't read the article.  I will have to go back through our old newspapers and see if I can find it.

[Lisa, Daisy & Dexter]

Karen this is some seriously scary stuff!

[F, Calla & Luca]

Karen is right about serious diseases but I really don't understand an acute episode like this. This sounds like some sort of major toxin. It might be something other than the poop.

[Diana Erhart]

Agree with that.  My neighbor didn't really say much more than that.  She was very upset, of course.  I don't know if somehow there was something toxic in the deer poop or maybe e.coli bacteria or who knows what else.  There was nothing else in the front yard that Goldie could have eaten that would cause that reaction.  She was in the front yard and within sight of everyone at the bus stop the whole time.  So, just something to be aware of.

[Ginny Nightingale]

I was thinking of mushrooms too--this was such a quick reaction that most bacteria would not cause it. The mushrooms are growing like crazy around my yard and will grow right out of deer poop and maybe not be noticeable. Thank goodness she is OK.

As I type this, my DH is outside getting one of my doodles out of a fenced enclosure around one of our apple trees. He fertilizes the trees twice a year with a treatment that contains chicken manure--then he puts a big fence around each tree. Mattie, our most ingenious doodle, figured out that she can push the fence down with her feet and go in there and eat the fertilizer, but she can not get out. So she just stands there waiting for us to let her out--she is such a food driven dog, I guess the embarrassment of being caught doing something bad is worth it to her. I get very upset with my DH for putting that stuff in our yard, but his apple trees are very important to him (oh, brother...) 

Last Spring he had boards and ladders all around the tree in an effort to outsmart our Mattie---it sort of worked...

[Diana Erhart]

Andrea, I don't think she got into any mushrooms but it does kind of sound like that kind of reaction.  I haven't noticed any in the yards lately but I would imagine it is always possible.  I will have to look around the yards more closely and see.

[Karen, Jasper and Jackdoodle]

Piles of deer poop and autumn leaves would make it hard to see mushrooms, and also provide the perfect growing medium for them.

[Lucy & AnnaBelle's Mom]

I also thought of mushrooms because I saw some just the other day when I was pooper scooping in the back yard.  You couldn't see them when you look out across the yard as they are down a little lower than the grass and very small.  Fortunately L&S don't seem interested in them as they are too busy looking for rabbit poo!  What is it with dogs and poo!

[Gail and Bailey]

Could it have been a toad?    Thanks for the warning as it is a daily challenge to keep Bailey from eating deer poop on our walks.  She sometimes manages to get a quick nibble if I don't keep an eagle eye on her.....I will be more diligent! 

[Lisa, Daisy & Dexter]

OMD Diana that is just horrible, I was getting anxious reading your lines. Thank Goodness she survived.

In OH there was some sort of disease that was making our deer drop dead. Hunters were told not to hunt as they did not know what the meat would have in it. Apparently the "Midges" (bugs near the lake") were biting the dear and it carried some sort of illness.

http://www.cleveland.com/outdoors/index.ssf/2012/09/outbreak_of_dis...

This disease has apparently traveled to our cattle as well, did not even realize this until just now.

Thank you for the warning. I am so glad Goldie is okay.

[Diana Erhart]

That article is very interesting.  I have not heard of that before either.  We have alot of deer around us and also lots of little "ponds" and standing water.  I will have to watch out for this now too!!!