Warning: Don't Let Your Dog Swim in Prospect Park Lake

Traces of blue-green algae pop up most summers in Prospect Park Lake.

But this summer’s outbreak is serious, according to recent test results from the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC).

A ”widespread” blue-green algal bloom was detected on July 27 at Prospect Park Lake, the DEC reports on its website. The lake water now contains ”high toxins” that can be incredibly harmful if ingested.

Prospect Park Lake has become a popular spot for neighborhood dogs to splash around; so much so, that its northernmost pool is named Dog Beach.

And Park Slope veterinarian Chris Gaylord, head vet at North Slope Veterinary, explains to Patch that if a dog comes in contact with algae-laced water — or, worse, if a dog drinks it — the consequences could be deadly.

“My dog swims in that water, and there’s no way I’d let him in there right now,” Gaylord says. “You don’t want your dog to be the one that drinks the water and ends up in the hospital.”

Although the vet says it’s “pretty rare” for dogs to get sick from an algal bloom, he says that “if they do get sick, they get really, really sick. Dogs die from it.”

Gaylord hasn’t seen a sure case of an algal infection pass through his office yet this summer.

However, he says one of his clients did bring in ”a dog that had been in the water and pretty immediately developed a skin irritation” — which could have been a sign of superficial contact with blue-green algae.

Gaylord explains that the real danger, though, is the possibility of toxins entering a dog’s body. (For example, “if a dog drinks water with the toxin in it, or if a small dog is covered in it and they’re licking it like crazy.”)

According to the DEC, symptoms of liver toxins include:

• repeated vomiting (green liquid)
• diarrhea or tarry (bloody) stool
• loss of appetite, anorexia
• jaundice (yellowing of eye whites, gums)
• abdominal swelling may be tender to the touch
• cyanosis (bluish coloration) of skin
• dark urine or reduced/ no urine output
  

Toxins from the bloom could also infect a dog’s nervous system. Those symptoms would include:

• stumbling, seizures, convulsions, paralysis
• excessive salivation/drooling
• disorientation, inactivity or depression
• elevated heart rate, difficulty breathing
  

Gaylord gives Brooklyn Bark an emergency protocol for what to do if your dog is exposed.

If you have any reason to suspect that your dog has been exposed you should wash them thoroughly with soap and fresh water. Wear gloves. Prevent them from licking their fur or grooming. If your dog shows any signs (see below) you should seek veterinary care immediately. Dogs are quite sensitive to the toxins produced by this algae and consumption can result in death.

After that, Gaylord tells Patch, all a vet can do is ”try to flush everything out” and hope the dog pulls through.

“I don’t think people should panic, but I think people need to know that their dogs shouldn’t be in there,” he says.