Bellingham family mourns 2 dogs that died after eating mushrooms in yard

BELLINGHAM -- A family in Bellingham is mourning the loss of their two pugs, which died after eating wild mushrooms.

Now the family wants to warn others about the dangers of mushrooms found in a lot of our yards. Because the family had no idea how deadly they can be.

"It’s just really sad that we come home and they`re not here. I was thinking the other night, I need to go home and feed the dogs and it`s like, oh yeah, I don`t need to go home.  They`re not there,” the dog’s owner, Renee Bliss, said.



If there was any doubt just how much Bliss and her family loved their two pugs, all one has to do is look around their Bellingham home.

Pugs are everywhere.

Paintings on the wall, a pug notepad on the table, small statue on the stairs and there are Christmas ornaments, too, and pictures everywhere.

Maggie was a fawn pug, she was 10; and Milo, the black one, was eight.

The Blisses knew something was wrong Nov. 2.

They let Maggie and Milo out to the back yard and after they came back in, both fell ill with vomiting and diarrhea.

Milo died that day. Maggie died nine days later.

"It`s been really difficult.  You know, it`s one thing, I guess, when they get sick for whatever reason ... devastating for our family,” Bliss said.

With the help of their veterinarian and a WSU lab, the Blisses determined the pugs died after eating poisonous mushrooms in their own back yard.

In particular, traces of a species of poisonous mushroom known as Inocybe was found in both dogs.

They are so poisonous they can even be deadly to humans.

Renee Bliss has a warning for other families.

If this can happen to their dogs, it can happen to anyone's.

"I`d say go out in your yard and see what`s out there and even if you can`t identify them, just get rid of them all; there`s really no reason to have them in your yard."

The family says they have since researched how to get rid of the mushrooms. They found it is nearly impossible so you just have to pick them every time they pop up.

Health officials reiterate mushrooms are deadly to humans, too.

If you have young kids who like to put things in their mouths, you should make sure your yard is clear of mushrooms to protect them.