Testing underway after woman says dog died from harmful algal bloom

FRESNO, Calif. (KFSN) -- During the summer, many people visit the local rivers. Some bring their dogs to let them jump in, play, and cool off, but one woman is now warning people to take a closer look at the water before letting their dog in after she said her dog died after a recent outing.

To say Diane Ewert loves dogs is an understatement; she works to rescue them and find their forever homes, plus has a few dogs of her own.

For five years, that included Norman, a golden retriever.

"He was just the best boy, a golden boy, a boy that brought a lot of joy," said Diane Ewert, Foster Adopt Rescue Transport Founder.

Diane said Norman was getting up in age, estimated to be around 10 years old. She didn't know how much longer she had with him, but she didn't expect to lose him so suddenly.

It happened a few weeks ago, after Diane brought Norman to the San Joaquin River on a friend's property near Kerman.

"I immediately felt underneath my feet that something was just different," said Ewert.

"We start walking down a little bit more, and I notice this really unique brownish golden glow under the water... I saw a couple of pieces float by because of the waves that we created as we were walking down, I saw Norman's nose touch one of the pieces."

Diane said she got out of the water, but when she called Norman to follow, he only yelped and seemed to lose control of his legs.

"I got behind him and I tried to pick up his hind legs and they fell immediately," said Ewert.

Diane was able to get Norman home, but he was still suffering and unable to walk, so she made the difficult decision to put him down.

Then she got to work, determined to figure out what killed her beloved dog.

She thought back to the odd water and the videos she took.

She reached out to the state Water Quality Monitoring Council, which said her videos appeared to show a harmful algal bloom, which can produce toxins.

The State Water Resources Control Board confirmed to Action News that testing is underway.

On Friday, Diane returned to the river and found advisories posted.

On the board's website, that spot now has a yellow triangle, with a pop-up warning users not to let pets or kids near algal mats.

While Diane can't get Norman back, she hopes to save someone else from the same fate.

"I don't want it to scare anyone," said Ewert. "I just hope that Norman's story and this experience that I went through allows people one, just be aware, to have resources... And we get to talk about it more."

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