St. Paddy Dogs!

[furtech]

It's too early for St. Patrick's Day, but my dogs are nothing but fast. After a nighttime dog walk I was about to hose 'em off when I noticed something peculiar...



Yep. Green. Somewhere on that foggy night, night, martians replaced my dogs with greenies.



As amused as I was with their condition, I always worry about little things like my dogs suddenly turning green. I am guessing they picked it up when they went into the creek behind a golf course (where the runoff goes). Worried* that it might be chemical residue from fertilizers or herbicides (green is not a "friendly" color when it's part of gardening chemicals), I gave them a shampoo with Pantine Pro-V.

I'm still tempted to go back there before the March/St. Patrick's Day Border Collie Rescue party and green them up again: after their initial hosing-off, they were clean and *bright green*. I just have to see how toxic this stuff is first.




*I was right: certain herbicides are mixed with green dyes to both show location and to add color to the grounds. Herbicides=bad

Comments

[fenris-lorsrai.livejournal.com]

There's a type of spray mulch and grass seed that's that shade of green. The green washes out shortly after it's applied. it's just tinted green to make it easy for maintenance crews to be sure they didn't miss a spot.

[furtech.livejournal.com]

I called the golf course and the guy there (working with the groundskeeper) said that it was probably the green-dyed herbicide they use to kill weeds around the trees and rough areas. It's -possible- that all they picked up was the dye, but I'm extra-cautious when it comes to commercial herbicides/pesticides. I'm almost tempted to report the creek contamination to the...who -do- I report things like that to?

[fenris-lorsrai.livejournal.com]

If it's running off into the creek that would be either the local office of the EPA, California Wish and Wildlife, OR, if you one, your town's Inlands Wetlands commission. California may be too dry for you to have them by town, but there is probably a regional water authority. (CT's so soggy each town has one!) Just plain trying the water department may work too since they may know who handles free flowing water source... or if that particular stream runs back into drinking sources and is thus their problem.