Mystery affliction kills 7 dogs, sickens 11 more in L.A. neighborhood

When Eric Torres took Chloe, his 4-year-old golden retriever, out for their daily four-mile walk around the Venice Canals last week, she seemed to be in good spirits and health.

But later that day, Torres’ husband phoned him, deeply concerned. Something was terribly wrong with Chloe — she had suddenly collapsed and began to seize en route to the hospital.

As the couple would come to learn, Chloe wasn’t the only neighborhood dog to suddenly fall ill.

In the last two weeks, seven dogs in Venice Canals have died and 11 more have been hospitalized with a mystery illness, according to a neighborhood group chat reviewed by The Times. All were said to have been in good health prior to a sudden onset of lethargy, nausea, seizures and other symptoms.

The neighborhood has a prolific dog culture, “second to Paris,” Torres said, and word gets around when pets are endangered. Concerned dog owners quickly sprung into action.

Residents in the Venice Canals neighborhood have posted warning signs after 18 dogs have fallen ill. A third of them have died.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

The county health department was notified, along with L.A. Animal Services and City Councilmember Traci Park’s office, said Christina Krause, the social media manager for the Venice Canals Assn., a local nonprofit. As they waited for answers from officials, one neighbor disseminated an online form where others could detail their pet’s daily routine, diet and medication.

When Chloe collapsed, Torres and husband Michael Hale drove her to the Access Specialty Animal Hospital in Culver City, where she underwent a series of tests. Veterinarians checked for marijuana as well as other drugs and potential poisons through blood and urine tests. All of the results, however, were inconclusive, Torres said.

He and Hale were given the option of putting Chloe on life support, but Torres opposed the move, not wanting to prolong her suffering. Chloe died just hours later. No cause could be determined.

“We’re still baffled by it, and I know the vets at [Access Specialty] were also baffled by it,” Torres said. “She was still, relatively, a very young dog. … I feel like we’re living in a toxic environment, and something is affecting them.”

Days after Torres declined an autopsy, other pets began to show similar symptoms days or even hours before suffering the same tragic fate as Chloe.

“My initial reaction was like, well, [an autopsy] is not gonna bring my dog back,” Torres said. “Now that it’s affecting so many other dogs, I think I’d like to know what it is. … I still have a dog at home.”

Christina Krause, petting her dog, Buddy, meets with neighborhood residents whose pets have recently died.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Notices were posted around the neighborhood that detailed the symptoms and warned other owners to avoid allowing their dogs to share bowls, advised them to avoid the canals, and to notify vets if any symptoms became apparent.

“People started putting two and two together,” Krause said. “We realized very quickly that there were too many deaths in a really condensed area that has really healthy dogs.”

The normally busy canal walkways were empty of owners and dogs on Tuesday afternoon. Sophia Rochia, a local business owner, said fear for pet safety had permeated the community.

“I think people are scared. … I personally haven’t even walked in the canals these past couple of days,” Rochia said. “Whether you just got a dog, or you had your dog for years and this happened, it’s horrible. … It’s like losing a family member or best friend.”

Regardless of breed, age or level of activity, dogs in the neighborhood have been indiscriminately affected by the elusive symptoms, Krause said. She added that neighbors had floated various theories about potential causes in the absence of local government assistance.

They wondered if a popular flea medicine was the cause, Krause said. “Someone else told me that there was algae growing that’s making seals sick. … The only common theme was that everybody had walked their dogs in the canal.”

Others have delved into the accusatory. One neighbor notified others that a “snail-poison” had been spread near a property and posted signs around the home that read, “Caution. Keep pets away! Toxic snail poison. Avoid white powder.”

Employees from the L.A. Department of Sanitation surrounded the canal on Tuesday afternoon, skimming the water to “inspect, test and clean” the verdant algae that floated near and under the bridges as a response to neighborhood complaints, an employee told The Times.

The Los Angeles County Public Health Department said in a statement to The Times that it was currently investigating the cause by working with local vets and residents to gather information on the “acute onset of severe illness in dogs.”

“We understand the concern this may cause pet owners in our community and want to assure residents that we are treating this matter with the utmost urgency,” the statement said.

One vet, however, believes the answer to pet owners’ questions can be found in the canals.

“My guess is it’s some type of cyanobacteria poisoning from the algae from the environment,” said Dr. Karen Halligan, a senior veterinarian at Marina Veterinary Center.

Halligan said this type of bacterial or algae poison — which might be surging in the canal due to heat — can cause vomiting, drooling, weakness, seizure and, eventually, death.

Without a forensic necropsy — an autopsy for animals — neighbors will be left searching for answers, Halligan said.

For now, with little information to draw on, some have taken time to mourn their lost loved ones.

Jamie Simms, whose 6-month-old dog, Mackie, died suddenly last week, pauses on a bridge where she used to walk her.

(Allen J. Schaben / Los Angeles Times)

Jamie Simms’ 6-month-old Rottweiler-husky mix has been the youngest reported case so far, Simms said. Mackie, alongside senior pup Rosie, excitedly welcomed Simms home last Tuesday before Mackie collapsed and suddenly began to seize following a few laps around the house.

Simms rushed her to the hospital, where all of the tests proved Mackie to be observably “pristine,” despite her condition. Vets sent Simms home to get some rest and implored her to return in the morning.

Half an hour later, Mackie had died — vets and a family physician told Simms that she “likely” suffered from a brain aneurysm.

“I’ve been mourning her and grieving her and just coming to accept that she was only meant to be here for 6½ months,” Simms said. “I gave her a really happy life, and she gave me so much joy. … I came to accept that that’s what it was meant to be for her.”

Before week’s end, there was another death. Taylor Brumm’s golden retriever, Ginger, had turned a year old just days before she suddenly died Friday. Brumm adopted Ginger because she wanted to become a part of the prolific dog culture of Venice — her home just minutes away from the canal.

“I was trying to accept that maybe she had a brain aneurysm … but it didn’t make any sense,” Brumm said. “Then we saw the fliers. … Now there’s something that finally makes sense.”

The sense of loss in the community is palpable, both Simms and Brumm said, but neighbors have rallied around those affected to mutually grieve or try to better understand the illness.

“Now I feel like I have a purpose to do something about it,” Brumm said, “a little bit more than I did.”

Public health officials urged residents to closely supervise their pets outdoors, keep them on leashes and avoid allowing them to sniff or eat anything in or around the canals, according to the DPH statement. Veterinarians with relevant information were asked to contact the Veterinary Public Health Program at (213) 288-7060.

Halligan said a necropsy would get to the underlying causes of a pet’s death, a service that the Marina Veterinary Center, and a number of other veterinary hospitals, can perform at the owner’s request.

Now, Simms walks Rosie through the concrete alleys of the Venice Canals, trying to avoid any areas that might prove dangerous as officials attempt to uncover a cause.

“I still have a dog, I still have to let her out to pee and go out,” Simms said. “It’s just a ghost town, and we have to keep all of them safe and figure out what’s going on.”