Watch Out For Green-Blue Algae

Nipawin - July 24, 2000 - By: Mario deSantis

Some thirty years ago, when first settled in Regina with my wife Sharon, we began our family companionship with our first dog 'Romy,' a beautiful and loyal German Shepard pup. As we enjoyed our 'Romy,' one day we took a short trip to the lakes at Fort Qu'Appelle and on our return home our dog was not feeling good, would not drink water or eat, would hide underneath the staircase in the basement away from us, and began to vomit. The next day Romy didn't get better and therefore we took him to the veterinary clinic where eventually he died. The doctor told us that Romy died of poisoning because he drank water polluted by green-blue algae. It was an accident, and soon after we got another dog 'Taly', (seen in the picture at right) this time a Samoyed, and so we began our love for dogs, continuing today with our mut Taly #4. After many years since Romy's death, we came to know that other dogs and livestock died because of drinking water polluted by the growth of green-blue algae, and today warning by the Regina Health District that our Saskatchewan lakes may be polluted by algae must be taken very seriously. It is not only a matter of drinking water and getting sick; we, our pets, and our livestock may die because of green-blue algae, so make sure you watch out and keep away from algae.

-----------Reference:

Algae warning for southern Saskatchewan, CBC Saskatchewan http://sask.cbc.ca/ Jul 22 2000 12:55 PM EDT