A Mushroom Hunting...

With all of the rain we've been having, we've been seeing a LOT of mushrooms growing outside. On Tuesday, I took Gibbs for a walk in the late afternoon. I usually let him drag his leash around as at that time there aren't many people. He usually always runs to catch up when I say "Let's Go" but something had his undivided attention under a small maple tree. I went to investigate and Gibbs was sniffing (or maybe eating???) some small mushrooms. In case you aren't aware, mushrooms can be toxic. We immediately went home and I induced vomiting. Ahh! I gave him two doses 30 minutes apart and no vomit. Grrr. I am a vet school applicant so I'm lucky that I have my vet's cell phone and home phone numbers. I called and he recommended that we wait to do charcoal or IV fluids because if I'm not sure that he actually ate any mushrooms, he'd hate to put Gibbs through all of that. I was on diarrhea and vomit watch 2010 for Tuesday evening and Wednesday morning.

Each and every time Gibbs had a bowel movement, it was solid, no diarrhea. I fed him boiled chicken and rice to soothe his tummy from the hydrogen peroxide. 2 days later, Gibbs is still feeling good. He must not have eaten the mushroom after all!

This afternoon, we went to the park again. Gibbs was on mushroom patrol, he had 1 in his mouth within 10 minutes. *sigh* All of these mushrooms are giving me a headache. Keep an eye out for mushrooms on your walks. If you don't know if it is poisonous or not, assume that it is. If your dog eats a mushroom, induce vomiting and call your vet!

Here are a few photos from a more sunny Thursday morning walk.