Tragically, a 29-year-old man from Florida lost his best friend recently and is now hoping that he can prevent the same thing from happening to others. Chris Taylor lost his loyal pooch due to saltwater poisoning after spending a day at the beach. It was supposed to be a fun day in the sand but it turned out to be a complete and heartbreaking disaster for Chris and his dog.

Chris never would’ve thought that this trip on the beach with his dog would be their very last one together.

The man lost his best his friend, who he met while he was still studying at the University of South Florida and pursuing a teaching degree. Chris met an adorable and playful puppy, and he took him in as a student. The young man named his new pup “O.G.” and the two instantly became attached and created an inseparable bond together.

“He always wanted to be doing what I was doing. He’s my family. he’s just so goofy and just always excited to see me when I came through the door,” the man said to WFLA.

As a dog, there was one thing that could always make O.G. excited: playing around in the water!

Hitting the beach was something that Chris and O.G. did on a very regular basis, and the pup was waiting for his owner to come home from school to play around every single day. And for Chris, it was the perfect relaxation after a long day in class as well. After all of those years, nothing changed for the two – O.G.’s favorite playground was still the beach and he’d always get excited when he saw the water.

One day, things took a tragic turn for the worse.

After a fun playdate at the beach, O.G. wasn’t behaving normally. It’s as if something was off, and Chris had no idea what was up. An upset stomach was the first thing that the man noticed, but then O.G. started to have diarrhea as well. Not long after, the pup regularly vomited too.

Chris then made sure that his pooch would get some extra nutrition to help him recover, as he supplied him with chicken and rice. However, nothing helped and at one point, O.G. didn’t even want to drink or eat. He wasn’t himself anymore.

Chris panicked when O.G. didn’t even respond to him anymore.

He raced to the veterinarian, who diagnosed the pooch with saltwater poisoning. Tragically, the diagnosis came too late, and there was nothing the vet could do anymore to save O.G.

“I saw him last night, and he was convulsing, and I asked if he was in pain, she said I don’t even think he knows where he is.”

Ingesting too much saltwater causes dehydration, which in turn leads to severe brain damage and seizures.

O.G. passed away shortly after the diagnosis.

“It still feels surreal. It doesn’t feel like reality. I [have] to get a grip on that and realize that it is real and he’s gone,” the man told reporters from Fox13.

Chris now hopes that sharing his tragic story will prevent the same thing happening to others and their pups.

It’s essential that your dog drinks plenty of clean, drinkable water whenever they hang around at the beach. Make sure your four-footer gets a healthy dose of clean water every thirty minutes – it very well may prevent saltwater poisoning and save your pup’s life.

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Source: WFLA News Channel 8, Fox13, Inside Edition