It was a beautiful, sunny August day when Jen and her family gathered together for fun at the lake. And with them was their beloved Miniature Schnauzer Hanz.
The energetic pup wanted to play all day, asking his human family to throw sticks into the water for him to retrieve.
Lake day turns to tragedy
But Hanz started acting strange mere hours after arriving at the lake. He was lethargic, and definitely not himself. His family instantly knew something was wrong.
They quickly carried Hanz to the car and drove to the vet clinic. On the way, Hanz started having trouble breathing. His family administered emergency CPR, but it wasn’t enough. Hanz tragically passed away less than an hour after he started to show symptoms.
Water intoxication in dogs
Once at the clinic, Jen discovered the terrible truth. According to the vet, Hanz had died of water intoxication. Because he had retrieved sticks from the lake, he had ingested an abnormally large amount of water in very little time. This had caused his body’s cells to swell – which eventually led to his death.
Devastated, Jen immediately took to social media to share her story. Few know about the dangers of water intoxication, yet, it kills up to 200,000 dogs a year. If your dog loves to play in water, they are at high risk of intoxication. If you can, try not to throw toys into the water, and don’t let your dog stay in the water for too long.
