Oh, God, I am so sorry. The Death Cap mushrooms have changed their habitat, their odor, and many other characteristics in California within the past two or so years. Please read my post containing the [url=https://www.helpfulgardener.com/forum/viewtopic.php?p=199155]sad story of Donato[/url], the six-month-old Bernese Mountain Dog Puppy, who ingested one of them in August 2010. He lived in the south Peninsula, like you do, and the various biology professors, park rangers, mycologists, and others whom his person, Diana, consulted in her campaign to make this new risk known all converged on the same message:
--the mushrooms, once virtually odorless, now smell like dead fish
--the mushrooms, once restricted to classic damp and shady sea-level environments, will now grow even at 7,000 feet in the Sierra, under dry oak trees
--carry hydrogen peroxide with you at all times to induce vomiting if you suspect that your dog has ingested a mushroom of *any* kind
Puppies are so sweet, so endearing, and breath-takingly fast to investigate the world with their mouths. Your tragic and devastating loss will, in time, become "merely" (right...) heart-breaking, rather than tearing at your breath, your sleep, your life at every turn.
Make it your mission to remove as many Death Caps as you can, every day if needed. Place them in a sealed plastic bag and put them in the TRASH. Do NOT compost them; do NOT let young children near them. The d*mned mushrooms may even have changed their method of reproduction; the researchers were and are investigating this possibility, horrifying as it is.
All we can do is increase our knowledge and our preparedness. Keep all the photos of your baby and any toys he loved. A future puppy/adult rescue dog (maybe?) will love them, too, when you can bear to let another one enter your home and your heart.
Cynthia H.
Sunset Zone 17, USDA Zone 9