The family of a dog who was one of four confirmed dead after exercising near a lough in Co Fermanagh, are determined to get answers in a bid to prevent others suffering the same devastation.
It is understood two further dogs have since passed away after being in the same area where Axel, a Saluki Lurcher cross pup, spent his last moments.
His owners say the 11-month-old rescue dog suffered an agonising end less than 25 minutes after he had been on dry land near Lough Melvin on Wednesday, May 31.
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They said: "The authorities are testing the water but Axel was not in the water. Our other three dogs, including my son's, went swimming but Axel only went to the area on the shore where we later discovered a black sludge had gathered.
"As we were preparing to leave for home, Axel darted through a hole in the wall and ran onto the rocky area twice. Our other three dogs had been in swimming but he didn't like the water and he was completely dry.
"We got the four dogs into the back of the car and had driven about 200 yards heading for home, when Axel started whining. He put his head between the back seats looking at us, then his eyes started rolling.
"We got him out of the car to see if he would stand up but he couldn't. We laid him on the ground and he started foaming at the mouth and suffering seizures. We phoned our son who is a vet and started looking for an out of hours vet close by, but within minutes Axel had died right in front of our eyes.
"There was nothing we could do, whatever killed him affected him in minutes. He suffered a horrible death, and we were right there with him and unable to help.
"He was just a pup, just starting life. We rescued him six months ago. He was the most beautiful dog with a wonderful character and it was all snatched from him in an instant.
"We have no idea what happened. We contacted the Environmental Health Agency, animal welfare, we contacted anyone we could think of to get them to investigate. We took water and sludge samples ourselves and we will have them tested to see if we can find out what we are dealing with."
Axel's owners, both retired professionals, took their pup home and buried him. They bathed the other three dogs and had blood samples taken from them which all proved normal. But the following day they heard other dogs had also died after being in the same area and this week they have been told about two others - totalling six dog deaths in a matter of days.
The couple returned to the area on Friday to try to meet the authorities and take samples themselves, and they discovered black sludge in the area where Axel had run through a gap in the wall. The council has since erected warning posters about entering the water but nothing about the coastal area around it.
Axel's owners said: "We need someone to step up and actually do something about this. Initially we thought Axel may have suffered a health problem we knew nothing about because as a rescue we didn't have all his records.
"But when we discovered three other dogs died around the same time and after being in the same place, we concluded he must have come into contact with something that proved deadly.
"We want to know what happened and we want to help prevent it from happening again.
"We asked for the NIEA to take samples and they did, but they wouldn't wait for us to meet them at the site to show them exactly where Axel had been. They also left without putting any signs up to say the area was under investigation as it was potentially dangerous to animal and potentially human life."
Warning signs have since been erected in the area by Fermanagh and Omagh District Council which advise no "contact with the water"
The notices state: 'Warning: Avoid contact with the water due to adverse incidents. Please do not enter the water and avoid contact with it. Please keep dogs on a lead at all times.'
Axel's owners are adamant he was not in the water at any time. They said: "At this stage we do not know what killed Axel but we do not think it was the water. However all the dogs affected that we know about appear to have come in contact with a black sludge on the lakes edge. But there are no warnings about it, just about the water.
"Signs were put up Friday night, two days after Axel died and hours after the agencies had left. However in the meantime, an owner who had not heard the news took her 2 dogs for a walk and not a swim around 8pm at Lough Melvin and both dogs died in the car on the way home. This could have been prevented if the agencies had been proactive and actually worked together rather than passing responsibility continually.
The Northern Ireland Environment Agency said an investigation for evidence of water pollution was carried out after the deaths of two dogs. They said: "No visual evidence of an algal bloom or any other signs of water pollution were detected," the agency said. As a precautionary measure samples have been collected for algal analyses."
Vets notified Fermanagh and Omagh District Council of their concerns, and a spokesperson said: "Dog owners should be aware of the dangers posed by poisonous plants and algae growing in the environment, but especially along riverbanks and in wet grassland or edges of lakes,"
Authorities in Republic of Ireland have also been informed.
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