Fairy Mushrooms

In a post earlier this month I inserted a rather lovely photo of a toadstool, which to me epitomises autumn.  Since then I've seen nothing but colourful mushrooms, fungus and toadstools wherever I go.  Not once have I stopped to consider the potential danger at large.  It's not as if I will take leave of my senses and suddenly take a nibble.  However, I forget that I have a new life companion, to whom these things are all new and interesting.  And the best way to explore this world inevitably involves his mouth.


And so I'm afraid to report that HHH appears to have consumed something he shouldn't have.  Last week on our daily foray around the university campus near our house, Horatio was seen munching something in the grass.  Nothing new there, except there were mushrooms growing directly adjacent.  By the time we got home, he was not himself.  Lethargic.  Sleepy.  And most definitely not the little devil he usually is at that time of day.

Over the course of the evening things didn't improve and by bedtime we were sure something was definitely amiss.  We carried him into his bed and hoped he'd be better by the morning.  Not so.  I now know where the saying 'sick as a dog' comes from.  Boy did he look rough the next morning... see photo below.

I made the mistake of googling 'I think my dog has eaten mushrooms' and gave myself a real fright.  We hot footed it down to the vets trying not to display the real horror we were feeling.  The vet gave him a good examination, checked all his vitals and concluded that he may have eaten something but at this stage we'd just have to wait it out.  He had a slightly elevated temperature for which he got an injection and I was to observe him for the next 24 hours.


No fear though, there is a happy ending.  HHH has recovered and is back to tormenting / loving us.  I'm still not 100% sure what he ate and if it was the cause but it has served as a timely warning.  This time of year is lovely but four-legged friends should be watched carefully!!