Follow-Up on Poisoning of Dogs in Baja Community

There is a daily email message board service for those connected with the Baja community where I stayed. It's general news regarding some restaurant menus, free concerts or art fairs, lost and found, things for sale, etc. Usually the news is a collection of odds and ends submitted by the readers and local businesses, but occasionally something really important comes through. That was the case today. There was a short article about the recent rash of dog poisonings.

For those of you who read this blog, you are aware that this was a concern of mine and one of my reason for not bringing Bella on this trip. While I was down there, I asked people what they knew about the poisonings and received very vague responses—"Well, I heard..." So was it an issue or not?

Most people who brought their dogs, even if leashed elsewhere, let them run loose on the beach figuring it was a "contained" space and therefore safe. I can't tell you the number of dogs I saw eating dead fish and fish skeletons. I was pretty surprised at this. From living in the Northwest, I am aware that a dead salmon can be highly toxic to a dog if eaten. My sister-in-law nearly lost her border collie under these circumstances. Plus, I don't know—are fish skeletons safe? The fish were big, therefore so where the bones, but does this make them less risky?

I've posted the story from the email below. It seems that the dogs may have consumed dead puffer fish. They refer to this website for the bulk of their information. The toxicity from puffer fish is devastating: paralysis, respiratory failure, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea and death. Bottom line—don't let you dog eat things if you don't know how it will effect him or her!

Dog Deaths/Poisonings Locally

There have been several "mysterious" deaths/poisonings of dogs this year in the La Ventana/El Sargento area. Initially, there was much talk of these being intentional; a sinister thought in what we know as paradise.  A recent case was caught early, the dog's symptoms closely observed, and with supportive care seems to be on the route to survival, although is not "out of the cactuses" yet.  The "parents" however may not survive after being up 24/7 for 5 days trying to keep the dog sedated, restained with IVs, cleaning up vomit, bloody diarrhea and urine. 

The good news coming from 5 days of intensive care and observation is that the toxidrome appears to be that of puffer fish poisoning and is unlikely to be malicious.  The bad news is that these toxic puffer fish are dead in masses on the beach, an unfortunate bicatch casualty from the shrimp boats, now making unsuspecting dogs part of the environmental shrimping disaster.   

It is most prudent therefore to keep your pets close by and closely observed whether near the beach or in the desert. A local [individual] states that the farmers use the livers of puffer fish as a cheap poison for pest control.