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Dog nearly dies after eating slug pellet
SAM EMANUEL
Last updated: 14/08/2010 09:00:00
Ray Noble with Kess
A Norfolk dog-owner is warning people with pets to beware after his dog nearly died when she ate “pet-friendly” slug pellets.
Ray Noble, 64, from Stoke Holy Cross, was shocked to find his beloved black Labrador Kess collapsing and drooling heavily in his garden.
The retired father-of-two and grandfather-of-three, who lives with his 61-year-old wife Jeanne, rushed the dog to the Chapelfield veterinary surgery in Long Stratton, where staff made the dog sick, pumped her stomach, lined it with charcoal and put her on various drips.
Mr Noble said: “She had gone into the garden at about 6pm.
“I got home about 10 minutes later and she was in a terrible state.
“She was panting very heavily even though she hadn't been running, and was foaming at the mouth and drooling heavily.
“She was shaking a lot and couldn't stand up, and thought she looked like she had been poisoned. I called the vets immediately and took her there, even though it was out of hours.
“I got a call at 10pm saying they had done all they could and it was now down to the dog, and that they would phone me if anything changed. I didn't sleep all night, and at 9am the following morning they called me to ask if I wanted to pick her up, which was such a massive relief.
“I spend so much time with her she is like another child.
“If I hadn't got her to the vets as quickly she would have died, there is no doubt about that.
“I know some people might have been tempted to wait until the next day, because it was out of hours, but if anyone has any doubts they should get their dog to the vets immediately.”
The slug pellets the dog had eaten contained a chemical called metaldehyde, which can be fatal if eaten by dogs or other animals.
There is no antidote, and vets can only pump the animal's stomach to ensure ingestion is minimised.
Brands that are marked pet-friendly still contain the chemical, but they also have a cat and dog repellent included in the formula.
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That is so scary,poor Kess,
glad the owner was on the ball, and acted quickly.
I have heard that pet-friendly slug pellets are not what they seem,
I have a cat,so always wary of what I'm using in the garden.
I have used broken egg shells scattered around the plants,
especially the ones the slugs seem to be most fond of.
That tip came from an old nursery man, many years ago,and it seems to do the trick.
Thanks Liz for drawing our attention to this,
A pet lover.
Trish
xxx
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That is awful, Liz.
So 'pet friendly' slug pellets aren't safe for pets - unless the repellant repels them!
Surely that's against the Trades Description Act? How can they assume that every 'pet' will be repelled - obviously Kess wasn't.
I never use slug pellets, as I have my 3 cats, slow worms and hedgehogs in the garden - the hedgehogs and slow worms obviously aren't starving - I still have loads of slugs & snails!!
Walked up the path tonight (rain today) and, after 'crunching' my way to the front gate (snails) had to scrape my shoes before going indoors!
I've tried the eggshells, Trish - but I think the slugs in my small garden find a higher plant and throw themselves off it onto the one I'm protecting!!
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It's sad that Kess had to suffer but good she is ok now
It's ridiculous to leave the chance of animals dying to a repellant that obviously doesn't repel all creatures.
We stopped using slug pellets because of my hedgehogs I had around last year, coincidentally I have at least one of them back again as of Thursday, I almost trod on one as I went down the garden to look in the greenhouse. I had left my washing in there on the clothes airer as some handwashing I did earlier needed to drip a bit more and the weather was too unpredictable to leave it out, hence setting up the airer in the greenhouse overnight.
Am putting down food for them again to encourage them, I like to think that this visitor might be one of those I fed from last August to November when they disappeared.
Lizx
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