Sea Hare, fatal encounter

todays west has a story that I thought might be worth giving fellow F/W members a "heads up" about.
What the story was about was a dog coming into contact with a Sea Hare and as a result died very quickly.
Apparently these things, which look some what look like a sea cucumber have a deadly covering slime that is very toxic and can bring about the death of your fido very quickly if the dog just licks the animal.

Just thought it was worth mentioning on here as a lot of us take our dog for a walk along the beach and perhaps not taking much notice of what our favourite pet happens to come across and give the taste lick too can have very serious consequences.


Faulkner Family's picture

Posts: 18069

Date Joined: 11/03/08

 Good to get info like that.

Wed, 2020-06-10 06:27

 Good to get info like that. Sort of thing most would never even think about as our dogs sniff everything . Cheers

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RUSS and SANDY. A family that fishes together stays together

sunshine's picture

Posts: 2626

Date Joined: 03/03/09

Seen plenty in Shark Bay

Wed, 2020-06-10 09:04

 I think they are a larger version of a nudibranch which advertise just how poisonous they are by their bright colouration but the hares are generally just brown .....I certainly didn't realise they are that toxic.   Bit like sago and cycads in the garden, if your dog likes chewing plants make sure you have none in your garden as similarly highly toxic to dogs 

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Date Joined: 03/08/19

Slug info

Wed, 2020-06-10 10:18

The big ones comonly seen along the Perth coast and frequently washed up after storms in autumn are likely the giant sea slug. If you google the scientific name, Aplysia giantea, there is a bit of info online about them and their biology. Saw heaps washed up a few weeks ago, mixed in with the seagrass and seaweed. Bad news for dogs but generally not dangerous to people, although maybe you wouoldn't want to get the slime in your eyes.

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Date Joined: 03/08/19

Typo

Wed, 2020-06-10 10:19

 That scientific  name should read Aplysia gigantea.

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Date Joined: 10/02/19

Labradors

Wed, 2020-06-10 14:38

Good luck to anyone with a Labrador. Our chocolate lab tries anything he can find. A washed up blue bottle sent him crazy and he doesn't touch them now. He hates the taste of blowfish as well. But I rekon any sea slug is fair game to him. I found an argonaut (paper nautilus) shell with the animal laying next to it. It may even have been still alive. Before I could get a good look he decended and swallowed it.

Bloody labradors.

carnarvonite's picture

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Date Joined: 24/07/07

Had 2

Thu, 2020-06-11 15:45

 Had 2 black labradors, first one was a bit fussy and only ate properly but the second one loved anything that came out of salt water, would leave a lump of steak to eat a rotten mulie, loved cray legs and whiskers, raw crabs pink occy , you name it, couldn't turn your back on him when beach fishing otherwise your bait was gone.

We were unloading our furniture when we moved to Two Rocks and he wandered over to old mates place across the court and eyeballed his line of freshly caught herring on the lawn, walked up for a pat on the head then kindly picked up the biggest fish and scoffed it. Talk about getting to know the new neighbours on day one, old Stan couldn't believe his eyes.

Jackfrost80's picture

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Date Joined: 07/05/12

My previous Golden Retriever

Thu, 2020-06-11 17:00

My previous Golden Retriever over the years ate an entire box of Lindt chocolate, 2 roast onions, a bloody stick and my wifes knickers. The buggers are indestructible!

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Officially off the Pies bandwagon

Scotte's picture

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Date Joined: 07/12/06

 Cheers for the heads up

Thu, 2020-06-11 12:53

 Cheers for the heads up

Jackfrost80's picture

Posts: 8156

Date Joined: 07/05/12

Thanks for the heads up Meg,

Thu, 2020-06-11 16:58

Thanks for the heads up Meg, will be exploring the world with pup once he gets his final parvo shot ina few weeks

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Officially off the Pies bandwagon