On June 11, a young border collie named Winter died unexpectedly after playing in a water-filled kiddie pool. Winter’s demise prompted his heartbroken owner, Jessie, to utilize social media platforms to warn other dog owners about the danger of water intoxication.
On Instagram, Jessie posted photos of her 18-month-old pup, writing:
I wanted to write this to advocate on his behalf, and to share the details surrounding his death to help spread awareness about the dangers of water intoxication for dogs. Winter spent about an hour playing in a baby pool with no more than 4 inches of water (see video), which he had done many times in the past.
The events from yesterday can only be explained as a “freak accident”. None of it truly makes sense but somehow this time spent splashing around in the pool, became fatal.
She adds:
With that being said, please be careful with your dogs this summer – especially on hot days or during potential heat waves. We do not need another innocent pup passing away tragically from this.
I cannot even comprehend the fact that he is never coming back. I am so grateful for the time I had with Winter, and I truly hope he brought as much joy to everyone else as he did to me. I will miss him dearly 🤍🖤
@jesssayyw This is heartbreaking to share but this was right before Winter passed away. This is for awareness purposes and showing the situation he was in before it became fatal. #dogsoftiktok #rip #bordercollie #puppiesoftiktok #dog #accident #waterintoxication #love #share #alldogsgotoheaven #bestfriend #awareness #spreadawareness
What exactly is water intoxication in dogs? It is a rare condition that develops if a dog ingests a large amount of water in a short period of time. The large amount of water depletes the sodium in the dog’s body, causing the cells to swell.
Symptoms to watch for:
- loss of coordination
- drooling
- pale gums
- restlessness
- lethargy
- bloating
- vomiting
- glazed eyes
- excessive salivation
- difficulty breathing
- seizures
- coma
Dogs who develop one or more of these symptoms after playing in water should immediately receive veterinary care. With prompt, supportive care (diuretics and electrolytes) dogs may recover, but survival is not guaranteed.
Please help save a life by sharing this vital information.
You can find more photos and videos of Winter on Jessie’s TikTok account here.
Sorry for your loss. A freak accident to say the least. My heart 💜 breaks for you.
Poor sweet dog sorry this happened I never heard of this.
So very sorry for your loss….thank you for sharing what most people never heard of.
I pray you find peace as I know your pain.
God bless winter, she’s in heaven as they all go running right in.
Cynthia Brown, the psychic wrote or spoke about this.
Be well.
This article should be renamed “don’t allow your dogs to drink huge amounts of water all at once” or “ parents should be watching their dog kids to make sure they don’t drink too much” or how about “ keep your fur babies inside in this horrible heat!” The warning about a “pool” is sidestepping the actual problem. It’s not the kiddie pool. It’s the parent who didn’t know to stop the fur baby from drinking too much, too fast. This can and does happen to humans as well.
It’s called bloat!
The owner feels bad enough: you are unkind +very negative: no where in the multiple photos +videos of the dog posted on social media, is the dog seen even drinking water (usually they vomit if they drink water too fast). The whole story is not posted: Its significant that the dog is an active breed w/a great deal of pure black long fur which could contribute to overheating in the hot sun- especially as the dog is never seen entirely wet as would a breed that likes to swim (he looks like he would mainly get his lower legs +feet wet splashing in the water (a water dog would be rolling in the water +cool. Overheating in the hot sun contributed.
We do not know the whole story, i e, was dog alive when he arrived at the Vet’s so tests could be done or did the Vet theorize? If a dog was drinking a huge amount of water, this is a caring owner who would have noticed. Even if his sodium were low, I think other factors contributed, maybe there was undiagnosed kidney or other problems. In the dozens of videos or stills that compose them, the dog is never seen drinking so there’s no indication there was a drinking episode to stop. Who are you to be so harsh to the owner, who was likely a more caring owner than most. What’s it like to be so miserable a person?
I am so sorry for your loss. Winter was beautiful. I’ll keep you in !y thoughts and prayers