OMG, My Dog Ate Rat Poison
Talk about freaking out! My dog ate rat poison today. I am a cat person so I don't know how common this is, my dog Buster is a Beagle, he will eat any and everything! I have seen this dog chew on batteries, pens, and chapstick. He even ate a small bottle of eye drops once.
Buster's Demise
So today I let Buster out to do his business. Now mind you, Buster is very fat and old. He has arthritis and don't move all that quickly but apparently faster then me. He ventured over to his favorite pooping spot on our property and spotted a box in the yard by his favorite peeing spot. By the time I got to him to make sure he stayed in his own yard and not wonder into the neighbors yard, he was eating what was in the box.
It Wasn't The Food That Buster Lives For
I flipped the cover over and seen D-Con Kills Mice and Rats
Thank God my oldest son was here doing laundry and heard me yelling, "Oh My God, Buster Just Ate Rat Poison". He came down to where we were and got the dog and called the vet. I cleaned up the area so no other animal could get to it. I have an amazing vet that I have been going to for over 30 years. They told me to get him there ASAP. It took me maybe 20 minutes to get him there and they took him right back. Before I even left the office, they had him puking to get the poison out of him as quickly as possible. He will be staying there for a few days. So I started doing some reach, seeing that I don't used any kind of poisons. I don't even use common cleaners in my house due to having my six cats and the dog. My husband calls me the walking commercial for white vinegar and baking soda.
d-Con Kills Mice & Rats, Dogs & Cats!
The active ingredient in D-Con Mice and Rat Poison is Brodifacoum, an anticoagulant rodenticide or "ACR". It affects your dogs and cats ability to clot properly. ACR inhibits the production of vitamin-k, dependent blood clotting factors made in the liver. This can result in internal bleeding.
Clinical signs don't take effect for 3-5 days. I guess I can feel a little lucky that I actually saw my dog eating this toxic poison and got him to the vet quickly. The thought of how many domestic and wild animals that eats this stuff makes me sick to my stomach.
The signs to look for:
- Lethargy
- Difficulty breathing
- Pale gums
- Couching
- Vomiting
- Bloody nose
- Hematomas
- Collapse
- Bleeding gums
- Death
Treatment that is common and that my pup will be receiving is decontamination, Vitamin-K orally for 30 days, blood transfusions, plasma transfusions, oxygen and supportive care.
How Can Something Like This Happen?
Later in the day I found out that my elderly neighbor put the poison out to get rid of several groundhogs that made their homes under some brush in our yard. They were getting into his unprotected garden several feet away from our property line. This was an honest mistake on his part due to the fact that he didn't realize that a dog or cat would be interested in eating such a thing. But he was wrong! Number one, dogs are very attracted to it, number two he placed this poison on our property without our knowledge ( I would have NEVER allowed it even for the death of a groundhog) and number three, now he is unwilling to pay the vet bills that we are going to acquir unless we hire a lawyer to tell him that he must. SMH!
The Effects of Using Poison Control
As you can see from the image below. Rodenticides such a d-Con enters the food chain when rodents die from poisoning and are eaten by domestic animals or wildlife - who often die as a result.
Protect Your Beloved Pets and Our Wildlife!
Just a week or two ago, my husband and I rescued a baby mallard deserted in a parking lot. The next day, I took baby mallard to a wildlife sanctuary who will care for and raise it until it is old enough to be released back into the wild. We are animal lovers and do not believe in inhuman treatment of animals, ANY ANIMALS.
My purpose for this blog is two-fold. One, that you may be aware of the dangers of rat poison use for wildlife and around domestic animals. Two, there are humane ways to rid your property of unwanted animals. Rescue, live capture and release, and animal sanctuary's, are a much better alternatives then having to say, OMG, my dog just ate rat poison!
How will you choose to protect domestic, wildlife, or unwanted animals in the future?
Recent Comments
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Great post. We recently had a dog what was feelig ill and the exterminator had recently visited... but after checking we realized that it wasn't that because he had only left bait under the house... but it does kind of freak you out thinking it could happen! Sorry for what you went through! -Alexx
Hi Alexx, Thank God this didn't happen to your dog. It really did freak me out. Then I got pissed! I know sometimes we don't stop to think about the dangers of common household products, but for pete's sakes, it's poison and should be handled in the way it recommended. That is why I choose for the most part to use chemicals that are not poisonous, and use more humane ways of dealing with unwanted critters. Now I have to admit, I had spiders. So if I see one in my space, it dies instantly. LOL
Most of the stores no longer carry it or have pulled it from shelves. Here is a news article pertaining to it http://cen.acs.org/articles/92/i23/Maker-Rat-Poison-d-CON.html
Yeah, stores and Amazon will likely still sell their remaining supply.
No physical store in my town has it anymore and they did 2 months ago. They sold what they had left and that is it. The product has to be in a protective bait station like Tomcat rat killer, so "Distribution of the products to retailers will cease by March 31, 2015"
Unfortunately, remaining supplies are still out there for the time being.
I noticed in the Amazon comments, people are going in droves to purchase from Amazon because they cannot find it in the stores anymore. This means that the Amazon sellers will end up running out of their remaining supply before very long. Let's hope your neighbor does not use Amazon for the time being and that your local stores are out of it now.
what my neighbor used that the dog got into looked old. It was a brown box that he had wide open exposing all the green pellets. He also had the green block looking things, I think they may be refills, that look like dog treats, that he placed openly on pieces of cut up cardboard. People can be very irresponsible.
Thanks guys, I had to take one of my female felines to see the vet today and got to visit with Buster for a bit. It is going to be a happy ending after all!! He as another treatment starting today but he will probably be able to come home tomorrow. Still not sure if the person responsible for this misfortune is gonna step up and do the right thing without it having to go to court, or me filing a police report which would not be a good thing for him. I have been looking into the law and he is certainly breaking them here in Ohio. I don't think he is aware of the fact that he could face hefty fines AND possible jail time for what he did. I really am praying that it doesn't come to those measures. But on the bright side my fat old boy is gonna fine and hopefully I raised some awareness of the dangers of using rat poisoning.
I was thankful for that Jean! If I wouldn't have seen it, my dog would have died. I now am very concerned and worry about other domestic animals and wildlife this may have affected. I spoke with the neighbor last night and found out this isn't the first time he has placed opened containers of rat poison out in the open to kill of the groundhogs. :(
Glad you caught this quickly...poor poochie....who put this outside in such a wrong manner? There are specific warnings and instructions about its use and placement......I'd really let that person know!!!!
Hi Rosie, It was my neighbor. It really is upsetting to me, not only for my own dog but for the wildlife that we have around our house. This isn't the first garden that he has had. I know he is frustrated about the groundhogs but for pete's sake, put up a fence. He has live traps as well that he is unwilling to use. I got them from him and told him WE will live trap the groundhogs and get permission to drop them off at a farm. To endanger the lives of so many animals just makes my blood boil. I am not sure he is aware that he is breaking the law and I could be very nasty and turn him in. He is elderly and has been our neighbor for 20 years now and I don't want it to come to that either.
Hi Shawn, yes it is a happy ending for the my fat old boy, but does't look the like the legal part of this situation is gonna end on a happy note for us or my neighbor.
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gosh not good, we have to take care about what we use around our pets, glad all turned out fine
Thanks Katie, I couldn't agree with you more!!!