Deadly toxic algae kill two dogs 

Dog-owners are being urged to stop their pets straying to what has become a deadly river.
 
Two Basset hounds have already been killed by toxic algae that have invaded the Hutt River.

Champion dog breeder Dale Wilkinson lost two of his five Basset hounds to the algae when his wife was walking their five dogs at the Hutt River on New Year's Day.

While the dogs were sniffing around the riverbank, two of them ate the killer algae.

Wilkinson says they were dead within half an hour of consuming it.

Sarah, one of the Basset's, died first, but Dale Wilkinson did not see it as anything suspicious, believing that she probably died of a heart attack,

It wasn't until he went to get Reg, the other Basset, that he realised something was terribly wrong.

"I went round to let him out and he didn't come out of his kennel and when I called and I looked in there he was dead in his kennel," says Wilkinson.

The Hutt City Council has now put up signs along the riverbank warning dog-owners of the algae danger as this is not the first time the outbreak has hit the city; it is in fact the third time in five years.

"It relies on warm weather and low flows and still water to multiply&problem is that it multiplies when those conditions are there very rapidly, during the winter it'll be gone, next summer it'll probably be back," says Don Carson, spokesperson for the Hutt City council.

The toxic algae blooms are a brown black colour and are still poisonous when they are dead.

And to make matters worse, it is not only dangerous to dogs and other animals, but dangerous to humans as well.

Humans have to wear gloves if they want to touch the algae, otherwise contact with it can cause symptoms of a cold, an upset stomach or even a rash.

Wilkinson though is still mourning the death of his beloved dogs and the rest of his family is feeling the pain too over their beloved bassets.

Dale Wilkinson for now will not be letting his other dogs anywhere near the river until its safe again.

For more information on the toxic algae, click here