Clean up mushrooms from your yard, veterinarian warns

A professor at the Atlantic Veterinary College in Charlottetown is recommending dog owners get rid of mushrooms that might be growing in their yards.

They may be cool to look at, but some of them can make you and your pets sick.

Prof. Christine Savidge said poisonings aren't common in her clinic, but mushrooms are the kind of thing dogs can get into.

"They tend to be indiscriminate eaters. They explore with their mouths and then they find something that they think is tasty and they eat it right up," said Savidge.

"It can be very difficult to identify which mushrooms carry toxins and which ones don't, and I would say if you have mushrooms in your yard I would get rid of them. You know, just pick them and throw them in the trash."

Savidge said while there are many signs an animal may have eaten a poisonous mushroom such as vomiting, lethargy, and not eating it's hard to diagnose.

If you suspect your pet ate a toxic mushroom, you should take them to the vet right away.

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With files from Brittany Spencer