Garrison pet owner Amanda Heslop has been left in "total shock" following the death of her "lively" eight-year-old Yorkie cross Mollie, who lost her life after coming into contact with a black sludge on the shoreline of Lough Melvin, which has since been identified by the Northern Ireland Environment Agency (NIEA) as decomposed blue-green algae.

Several other dogs were also reported to have died after being in the area.

Speaking to The Impartial Reporter, Amanda highlighted the circumstances that led to her beloved Mollie's death, in the hope of warning other pet owners, to help prevent further dog deaths in the area.

On the morning of Wednesday, May 31, Amanda was walking Mollie through Garrison park and to the pier by Lough Melvin, on a lead. She then let her off the lead to run along the pier.

She explained that the waters of Lough Melvin were as "clear as anything" with no algae in it, otherwise she wouldn't have let Mollie off the lead.

"She ran back [and I] popped her [back] on the lead [and] went into the car park.

"Then I let Mollie off the lead and she popped over the little wall onto the rocks at the side of the lough, but not into the water. She wasn't a dog that would just run into the water randomly. She liked to chase a stick," she explained, noting that when Mollie was on the rocks, she started rolling in something: "It was black so I thought it was fox or mink poo.

"She's a dog and dogs roll in poo so I didn't worry about it, so I just called her back," said Amanda, noting that they then went on to the beach before heading home, which was around a five minute walk away.

"I walked her home and she seemed fine," she added.

However, when Amanda got to her gate, Mollie suddenly stopped. She stood still with her mouth open and was putting her paw up to her face.

"I thought she'd got something stuck in her mouth, so I opened her mouth and looked but her mouth was clear," she said, explaining that some of the black substance that Mollie had rolled in was stuck to the fur on her neck, so she got a wet towel to wipe it off.

"I felt her start to shake and I looked in her eyes and they had just fixated.

"I then scooped her up and drove one handedly to the vets with my hand on her chest because I could feel her heart thump for a while and then faltering. And then she started shaking all over.

"When I got to the vet, I rushed in holding her... then I felt her heart stop," she said, noting that the vet then took Mollie and gave her adrenaline and oxygen.

"She managed to get her heart going and then she just died," said Amanda, who was in total shock: "It was 9.25am when she rolled in it and at 10.20am, she died."

"I'm not apportioning any blame on what the vet did, because they didn't obviously know, but I said to her, 'what on earth is it?' And she said it seemed like cardiac arrest.

"I asked if it could be toxins and she said something like it's hard to tell if it's toxins, but it could be."

It wasn't until the following day that Amanda seen a post on the vets' social media page saying that several dogs had taken seriously ill after being in the Lough Melvin area.

She later met up with Alison and David McQuade, whose dog Axel had also died after being near the black sludge on the shoreline at Lough Melvin. The Impartial Reporter previously spoke to the couple about Axel's passing. Both dogs had similar symptoms.

In the day's following Mollie's passing, Amanda went back to Lough Melvin to warn other dog owners. She also reported the issue to NIEA and Fermanagh and Omagh District Council. Following tests, NIEA confirmed that the black sludge was in fact decomposed blue-green algae.

Concerned that the area is still not safe, Amanda continues to raise awareness in any way she can.

"That's why I sort of buddied up with Alison and David, to pursue it until we're happy that all that was done could be done, to prevent further deaths really.

"I wouldn't wish this on anybody," she told this newspaper.