SACRAMENTO – More than a dozen dog owners said their pets became ill after a walk in Frank Seymour Park in Sacramento in early August.
The park is located in the Greenhaven neighborhood off Florin Road, and pet owners began asking questions when they saw people sharing the same experiences online.
“She started vomiting and drooling heavily, like everywhere else,” said Bryce Hoeltke, whose 7-year-old dog Juno became ill after a walk through Seymour Park in early August.
Other dogs that had also been walking in this park showed similar symptoms.
“Within an hour he was vomiting and that continued for 24 hours,” said Deborah Cook, whose dog also became ill.
Hoeltke’s dog was sick for about three to four days.
“Every time she was sick, she would come in and look at you with these really sad puppy faces,” Hoeltke said.
In Cook’s dog Scotty’s case, the illness lasted only about 24 hours.
“At least 20 different people posted on Nextdoor that their dogs got sick in the same way,” Cook said.
Scotty became ill at the end of July.
“Many said they just vomited, and many said they were just lethargic and didn’t eat,” Cook said.
Hoeltke contacted 311 for answers after hearing online about other dogs in the neighborhood who had gone to the vet without a clear diagnosis.
The City of Sacramento Parks Department responded to his inquiry asking for more details about the area of the park he visited and said it would investigate possible causes.
Ticket 311 has since been marked as closed and Hoeltke has never heard from him again.
Scotty and the other dogs have now recovered and are resuming their daily walks in Seymour Park.
“Everyone thinks it might have been mosquito spray,” Cook said.
The City of Sacramento said in a statement that it “cannot cite maintenance as the reason” and the cause is still unknown. The full statement reads:
In early August, staff received reports of sick dogs in Seymour Park and investigated previous maintenance work to see if these reports could be related to any work. The actual cause is still unknown, but the city cannot pinpoint maintenance work as the cause.
Weeds in Seymour Park were last treated on June 5. The herbicides used by park maintenance staff did not cause the symptoms described in the reports. In addition, staff treated 67 other parks this past spring and summer, and we have not received any reports of dog illness at any of those parks.
We hope that the dog owners can determine the cause and that their animals will recover quickly. We encourage all park visitors to continue to report concerns in the parks to 3-1-1 so that we can further investigate matters as they are brought to our attention.
Veterinarians advise pet owners to keep their dogs’ vaccinations and parasite protection up to date. And just like with people, if your dog isn’t feeling well, stay home.
