DOG OWNERS in Argyll are being warned keep a close eye on their pets after a suspected poison that can kill dogs quickly took its first casualty in the town.
Three other animals have also shown symptoms of poisoning in the last month in the Lorn area. The other dogs would have also died were it not for swift action by Frankie Millar, senior vet at Oban Veterinary Surgeons, Tweedale Street.
The dogs – two from Oban, one from Balvicar and one from the Loch Awe area – were all rushed to the vet with severe fitting.
Ms Millar is deeply concerned by the trend. ‘In one year I maybe see one poisoning incident, certainly not any more than two, so four incidents is an incredibly worrying situation.
‘The poison seems to take hold very quickly and by the time the dogs are brought to the vet practice, they are seriously fitting and in a very poor condition.
‘Symptoms seem to take hold in the dogs as quickly as 20 minutes after consuming some sort of poison.
‘The fitting simply will not stop and we have to give the dog an anaesthetic. We gradually bring it around to check if the effects of the poison have worn off, and if not we put them under again. Without this medical intervention the dogs would be dead.
‘The best advice I can offer is for owners to be aware of what their dog is doing.’
Strathclyde Police Oban’s wildlife crime officer PC Stevie McAleer said that regurgitated material from one of the dogs has been sent away for analysis to try and establish what is causing the dogs to become ill.
‘We are taking the reported incidents seriously,’ he told The Oban Times.
Scottish Society for the Prevention for Cruelty to Animals officer, John McIvor said: ‘I am looking for any common links between these incidents. This is causing me serious concerns not only because it is an offence to put down poison for animals but this is killing and injuring domestic pets.
‘If it is poison being put down, it is an offence to use it and the Scottish SPCA take any poisoning incidents very seriously.’
