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As many of you may have heard, recently several dogs died and several others became ill while preparing for a field trial in Utah. After an intensive investigation, pro trainer Josh Conrad, of Conrad Retrievers, wanted to share his experience directly with the retriever community.
Salt Lake City, UT - May 9-16
We trained and camped in and around Lee Kay for 8 days in preparation to run two Utah field trials.
Salt Lake City, UT - Wednesday, May 17
At 2:00 pm, we had just completed a set of water marks and I pulled around the opposite side of that same pond to air dogs. I let all 16 of my dogs out to air as well as my truck dog. After about 10 minutes, I noticed they had all congregated on a point and were feeding on something that I assumed was goose droppings. I didn’t want to have a messy truck so I immediately loaded them all up and returned to camp. At 5:30, my girlfriend, Benni, and I went to feed and air.
As we opened each hole to feed the dogs, we discovered that most had been vomiting. It was green and had the texture of what you might think goose droppings would look like had it been eaten and regurgitated. At that time, we decided not to feed them as they most likely wouldn’t keep it down. I gave metronidazole to all the sick dogs to help them get over their upset stomachs. I then went to the store to purchase chicken and rice so they would have something to eat that would not upset them further. We attempted to feed the dogs at 10:00 pm. Some of the dogs ate and some did not.
Thursday, May 18
The next morning at 5:00 am, I went out to air and the majority of the dogs were still not feeling well. I gave them all – including the healthy ones -- another round of metronidazole. It still appeared as though they had upset stomachs from eating goose droppings. Being the Thursday before the trial and no training allowed on the grounds, I staked 10 of the sick dogs out to relax and provided constant water.
Throughout the morning, they did not seem to be getting better; however, not all dogs were at the same level of sickness. Some were sick and some just seemed uncomfortable. And there were 5 dogs that never showed any symptoms at all. Of note, 3 of those 5 never went to the point to eat what the other dogs had eaten. Shortly after noon, I started getting the gut feeling that something else was going on other than a simple upset stomach that dogs can typically get from time to time when traveling to new locations or eating something like goose droppings.
At 2:00 pm, we were able to find a veterinarian at Animal Care Center-Airport, who would see our sickest dog. We arrived there at 3:30 pm. This was 25 hours from the time I witnessed my dogs eating something at the water’s edge. My appointment was for a 6-month-old puppy named Motor. At the time, I felt he was the sickest on the truck. Given the dog’s symptoms, the clinic was concerned about a contagious illness so they had us lay the dog in the lawn. The doctor first performed a Parvo test. That test came back negative. Then they started blood work. The machine running the blood work failed three times, and due to the seriousness of the dog’s condition, we were transferred to Advanced Veterinary Care, ICU. The Animal Care Center sent us with several bags of fluid so that we could administer sub-q treatments to help rehydrate the sick dogs.
At 5:30pm, we arrived at AVC, and Motor was seen by Dr. Lindsay Wright. They immediately took Motor back to the ICU and ran another Parvo test on him. Once again, it came back negative. A third Parvo test was run shortly after and it had a positive result. I immediately notified the field trial committee and told them Motor had been tested for Parvo 3 times, and one time it came back positive. I told them I did not believe it was actually Parvo, but I wanted them to have the information so that they could make necessary decisions for their trial.
Motor’s blood work was processed. Dr. Wright informed me that Motor’s organs were failing and the right thing to do would be to put him down. I went into the ICU with Dr. Wright, held Motor’s paw, kissed him on the head and said goodbye. This was now 27 hours after eating the unknown substance and 24 hours after symptoms began. When Motor passed, I looked at Dr. Wright and said, “OK. Now let’s go save the rest of my dogs.”
Dr. Wright is a former military veterinarian and a practicing veterinarian of 20 years. There was no better person to better deal with this catastrophe. She was excellent in the face of an emergency. She collected her team and went to the parking lot where she immediately starting taking vitals of all the dogs and selecting those who needed to be admitted. All 15 dogs on the truck were administered a Parvo test; all the results were negative. (Dr. Wright never believed it was Parvo. She believed Motor’s positive test was a false positive.) The majority of the dog’s temps were normal with a couple of the sick ones being elevated to 104-105 degrees. Those three dogs, CJ, Rayne and Shak, were admitted to ICU. She felt that I could outpatient the remaining ill dogs. At roughly 8:00 pm, while waiting for the process of the opening accounts for the dogs and getting checked in, Benni and I started sub-q fluids on the dogs that were deemed healthy enough not to be admitted.
When the first dog was admitted, I started notifying the owners’ of the sickest dogs of their condition. I briefly explained the situation and asked each of them to contact AVC to set up individual accounts and authorize treatment. I was very grateful for the client’s understanding and support as it made the process more streamlined.
Dr. Wright was overwhelmingly baffled by the age range of the sick dogs as well as the fast-moving, aggressive nature of the illness as the majority had been vaccinated within the past 4 months. She prescribed anti-nausea pills and sent us home with specialized, wet dog food and more fluids. She felt three of the outpatient dogs required an injectable anti-nausea as they most likely would not hold down pill form. While AVC performed at their highest level, it was a very difficult process for us. Each dog had to be carried into the clinic for weights and pulled off the truck for examination and put back on the truck. We were covered in various bodily fluids from each of the sick dogs, and we continuously circled the truck making sure sub-q fluids were getting into each dog who needed it. We worked nonstop for 8 hours trying to save the life of every dog we could.
At around 10:30 pm, Archi, Kenzie, and Beckett were given their injections. When I got Beckett out of the truck for her injection, right away, I knew she had significantly declined since she was first examined 3 hours previously. The Vet tech agreed and immediately called Dr. Wright, who re-examined her. Beckett’s vitals remained the same, however her temperature had gone from 101.3 to 104.5. I voiced my concern to Dr. Wright that Beckett should be admitted and she agreed, however, Advanced Vet Care’s ICU was at capacity. Dr. Wright transferred us to Med Vet (about 10 minutes away).
We arrived at MedVet shortly after 11:00 pm, and Beckett was admitted at midnight. We then returned to camp to tend to all the dogs, offering them food, water and medication. While doing so, I saw that Archi appeared to have declined. I took his temperature and it was 104.8, increased by roughly 4 degrees. I loaded all the dogs back up, called Archi’s owner and told him I was having him admitted at MedVet. I returned to camp at 2:30am and let all the dogs off the truck one last time before showering and going to bed.
Friday, May 19 (day of the trial)
I woke at 5:00 am to check the dogs. Before I got outside, I received a message from Beckett’s owner telling me Beckett passed away. Shortly after, CJ passed away.
The trial committee had asked us to leave the grounds as the policy is, “No sick dogs on the property”. This upset me because I had nowhere to go locally and I did not want to leave my sick dogs alone in ICU. Additionally, I did not want to stress the outpatient sick dogs on my truck by traveling. However, as a field trial chairman, myself, I understood why it had to be that way. I decided to go to my summer location outside of Twin Falls, ID, 3 hours away. Before leaving, we administered more sub-q fluids to dogs.
I could not, in good faith, leave the grounds without investigating the area for myself. Around 7:30 am, I asked a fellow Pro trainer to take me to the location where I saw the dogs eating the unknown substance that I originally thought was goose droppings. We both inspected the point. To both of us, the area looked harmless. There was only one goose dropping. The only thing that looked out of place were what I call “mud chips” (dried mud flakes) sitting on top of the grass.
As we pulled out of camp, I received a call from Beckett’s doctor. He asked me if I would be willing to take Beckett’s body to Utah Veterinary Diagnostic Laboratory in Logan, UT for necropsy and further testing. I absolutely agreed and did so. We delivered Beckett to the care of Case Coordinator, Gordon Hullinger, DVM, PHD, DACVP at roughly noon. Dr. Hullinger was the pathologist performing the examination on Beckett. Along with his pathology report, tissue samples were to be sent to UC-Davis as well as other locations for toxicology reports.
We continued on our way to Twin Falls. At 2:00 pm, we stopped to air the dogs and offer water. We discovered another dog, Solo, had passed away during travel, making her the 4th dog we had lost. At this point, we had 5 healthy dogs who had never had symptoms, 2 sick dogs that seemed to be bouncing back, and 2 sick dogs that we were greatly concerned about in addition to the 3 dogs in Salt Lake in ICU fighting for their lives. After already being completely devastated by the loss of 3 dogs, a 4th loss was emotionally defeating. We were fighting a losing battle. We were not able to fully grieve the loss of our dogs as it was more important to continue to work to save the lives of the dogs we still had.
The entire day, I had been in constant contact with owners, field trial committee members, and veterinarians trying to figure out what was going on. The vets still had no idea what the cause of the illness was, but were strongly leaning toward an environmental toxin. Both AVC and MedVet veterinarians did not believe the cause was Parvo. As soon as we arrived to our summer location, we unloaded dogs, cleaned them up and got them into clean kennels with food and water. We gave medication and sub-q fluids to the sick dogs in our care. By 8:00 pm, we finally had the opportunity to slow down, clean ourselves up and get some much-needed rest.
Saturday, May 20
At 5:00 am, I called both clinics to get an update on the ICU dogs. I learned Archi and Shak had had a very hard night. Rayne was holding steady and slightly improving. While tending to the dogs with me, I noticed that Eagle and Randi (2 previously sick dogs) seemed to have bounced back and were 90% of their old selves with a spring in their step and a Labrador’s appetite. Kenzie and Prince remained the two sickest dogs in our care; neither had an appetite or much energy. We continued to give them their metronidazole, anti-nausea and sub-q fluids.
Around 9:00 am, I got a Facetime call from conservation officer, Joseph Lehr, of the Utah Department of Natural Resources (DNR). He, along with a field trial committee member were at the location where I believe the dogs came in contact with what made them sick. I explained to him how the events had unfolded and what I believe happened. He took my report and recommended I contact Virginia Stout, the DNR veterinarian, as this was not a law enforcement issue but rather an environmental/veterinary issue. Unfortunately, she would not be available for a day or two.
Midmorning (roughly 60 hours after the onset of symptoms), I was notified that, despite aggressive lifesaving attempts, Archi and Shak had passed away. Rayne, the sole remaining dog in ICU was measurably improving. A total of 6 dogs had passed. The rest of the day was spent treating sick dogs.
Sunday, May 21
AVC had contacted us to inform us that Rayne was steadily improving and could be discharged the following day. At this time, Kenzie no longer required sub-q fluids and her appetite had returned. While Prince drank water vigorously, he continued to refuse to eat and could not hold down his medication. We continued administering sub-q fluids. All dogs in my care were in a stable, comfortable state.
We turned our attention to cleaning and disinfecting my truck and all items on it. This was the hardest day. As we cleaned each hole, we remembered the dog who occupied the space and would not return to do so. It was the first time the devastation could sink in.
Sunday afternoon, Beckett’s ICU nurse contacted me and asked permission to give my number to Hannah Bonner, PhD, Environmental Scientist, Division of Water Quality for the state of Utah. At 8:45 pm, Hannah contacted me and asked if I could relay the events to her. She then asked if I would be able to meet her back in Salt Lake at the location I believed the dogs came into contact with whatever made them sick.
Monday, May 22
I returned to Salt Lake to pick up Rayne. I requested blood tests on Prince to confirm that he was improving despite not having an appetite. I was extremely relieved to know that his test were normal.
At 11:30, I met Hannah Bonner and her research team, the head of maintenance of the field trial grounds and a local field trial member who knew the grounds very well. I took them to the site where the dogs ingested the unknown substance. I explained to Hannah what happened. I told her what I observed Friday morning when I inspected the point. I gave her the timeline of events and her team proceeded to go to work. They spent over an hour collecting samples from the land and water.
She told me she believed she found dry algae beds that could very possibly be toxic algae. They were going to go back to the lab and expedite the testing. She said this was her top priority. At that time, we were notified that the grounds would be closed to the public, including the cancellation of the hunt test trial that coming weekend.
Tuesday, May 23
All previously ill dogs were now at or near 100%. Prince was getting better by the day. From the very beginning, there were 5 dogs who never showed symptoms and remained healthy: FC Maddie (7 years old), Abbie (18 months), Shelby (1 year old), Ruby (7 months), Ice (6 months) and dachshund truck dog Vince (2 years old).
At 1:30 pm, Amanda Price, Assistant State Veterinarian of Utah, called me to hear my story as the State of Utah was very interested in the events that caused the death of 6 of my dogs. At 2:30 pm we received the pathology report from necropsy. I had to call a veterinarian client to decipher it for me. The pathologist left the results open to many possibilities: Parvo, environmental toxin or poison. We would have to wait for the toxicology report for firmer answers. Unfortunately, we would have to wait several more days.
Wednesday, May 24
We decided we needed some normalcy and took the healthy dogs out to retrieve some marks. The dogs were very excited and more than ready to get back to normal.
Dr. Hannah Bonner contacted me at 2:00 pm to give me her initial test results and explain her findings. The first thing she told me was that toxic algae is her specialty. She is trained to look for and find it. She admitted that she, herself, would have never thought that the shoreline contained a dangerous substance and she would have allowed her own dog to go there.
Her lab had received the phycology results which stated, “Both live and dried material was dominantly composed of benthic cyanobacteria from the genus microcoleus with smaller amounts from the genus phormidium. Both of these genera are well established as anatoxin producers.” Dr. Bonner mentioned that the land samples, specifically the mud flakes, contained a concentrated amount of this algae. To date, this type of algae had been found in streams and running water, not in ponds, and certainly not on land. Since then, we have been told by a local that the two weeks previously the pond in question was nearly 2 feet higher, but had receded to its current level. Dr. Bonner believes that is how the algae was deposited on the land. (Read phycology report here.)
That evening, it came to my attention that the tissue samples from Beckett’s pathologist had yet to be sent to any outside testing organization, including UC Davis. This information was given to Dr. Amanda Price and she assured me she would go to the laboratory to determine what was going on.
Thursday, May 25
Today, I spoke with Dr. Bonner who was very upset to hear toxicology samples had not been sent out. Reports of the affected and dead dogs had reached Dr. Amanda Foss of Green Water Labs in Florida, who asked to perform a study on the necropsy tissue samples of the infected dog as well as samples from healthy dogs for comparison. Once these results are in, we’ll have a more complete understanding of what happened.
As I sit here now, after speaking with Drs. Bonner and Price, it is clear that it was some sort of toxic algae that caused the death of 6 of my dogs. It’s good that the scientists will ultimately discover exactly the type, but it is not important to me or to the clients that lost dogs or had sick dogs.
I greatly appreciate all the assistance we have received in this matter, from the first veterinarian we saw to the water scientists. They performed an outstanding job and seem very determined to get to the bottom of this. I have complete confidence in all of them. I am also grateful to the retriever community for their concerns and support. I received what seemed like hundreds of communications, and I apologize for not being able to respond to each of them. I feel fortunate to be a part of such a great group.
In the 20 years I have been in the sport, I have never seen anything like this and I hope I never do again. Please keep the owners who lost dogs in your thoughts and prayers. From the beginning, they have been greatly supportive and concerned, not just for their own dogs, but for all the dogs on my truck. I am truly grateful for each and every one of them. What I have learned, and what I hope all of you will gain from this experience, is that regardless of being on a designated dog property, the area may not be safe. I will forever be skeptical of airing near bodies of water unless I know they are 100% safe.
Please remember:
Motor (6 months) – owner Josh Conrad
Beckett (2 years old) – owner Barbara Martin
CJ (2.5 years old) – owner Craig Battaglia
Solo (3 years old) - owner Joe Skaggs
Shak (8 years old) – owner Rob Gilbert
Archi (2 years 10 months) owner Dan Partington
Forever Grateful,
Josh Conrad
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