We have builders in the house at the mo ,I set off out for our evening walk and one of them stopped me just outside our gate to ask me something,so I wasn't fully concentrating on Dexter. He got busy checking his usual tree and surrounding greenery when I sensed something different in the movement of his lead and looked down,his head was right in a bush and when he came out he was holding something in his mouth very gingerly.I told him 'drop' and it was a small bright blue cube about the size of a dishwasher tablet of what looked like the rat poison that ive seen used in the Community traps......oh Lordy,you can imagine!I stamped on it,put him straight in the car which was right beside me and then scooped up the now crumbs of the block in a poo bag and took him straight to the Vet.The fact that I hadn't seen him chomp and that he dropped it immediately bodes well and hence she didn't make him sick....he has got a precautionary course of vitamin K tablets to take until I can find out what exactly it is which will be a trip to the Community Management Office tomorrow. This ironically and worryingly happened to a friend of mine some years back with her lab,only he was chomping and she had to stick her hands down his throat and grab what she could...luckily after an in patient stay at the vet he was ok.The Pest Control company were careless and had dropped a refill close to the trap they were refilling...I'm sure this is what has happened to us........I'm so getting to the bottom of it tomorrow. The whole thing from me noticing to him dropping took about 3 seconds,,,,but as I'm writing this I'm thinking should I have insisted she made him sick just to be on the safe side?....she wasn't my usual Vet she was a new one that was 5 minutes away....ah worry,worry,worry....He is sleeping the sleep of the innocent lying on my feet while I'm typing this....
Oh no, how absolutely awful, and of course it only takes a second or two of distraction for something to happen. Try not to worry, yes I know you will regardless, but it sounds as if you acted very quickly to get Dexter to drop whatever it was and whisked him straight to the vet. I would just a keep a close eye on him and work on he didn't ingest any of the substance so being made to vomit was unnecessary. Hope you get a response from the Management Company tomorrow and hoping that Dexter is absolutely fine xx
How horrible for you. Dexter should be absolutely fine though with his vit K. In the UK most warfarin-based rodenticides are blue or green and symptoms are unlikely to develop for several days after exposure. We would usually induce vomiting if they have eaten the poison in the last three hours and not bother otherwise, but from what you are saying it seems unlikely he has eaten much if any of it so inducing vomiting might not be worthwhile. If you can get hold of some activated charcoal it might be worth giving him some to further reduce the risk of anything being absorbed. If you are seriously concerned he has eaten a significant amount you can wait a couple of days and have his bleeding time checked at the vets. If his bleeding time is abnormal you need to be giving vit K for several weeks not just a few days so it is worth a check. Hope this helps and you are both OK!
Well done Dexter for dropping when told. It must've been so scary for you Angela but at least he dropped it before eating any. I don't know if the rat poison in Dubai is the same as here but an animal has to eat approximately half its body weight in our rat poison for it to be dangerous. I found this out from our councils exterminator man, my cousin works in the environment department, because S&S had eaten cat muck at the bottom of our garden which was a very strange metallic green colour. On googling the colour was caused by the blue in rat poison. S&S were fine and both the farm cats are still very much alive so hopefully there's no need to worry about Dex especially as the vet has put him on vitamin K. Having said that I still worried and I know you will so I've got my fingers crossed just incase. x
How awful poor Dexter. Thank goodness you had the presence of mind to act quickly and get him to the vet. Do let us know how he is.
Oh Angela, you must have been so scared! I'm always worried that Pops will eat rat poison or similar, not that there's much around where we are but sometimes you hear of it happening around farms and so on...
Poor Dexter and you. Well done for your very quick reactions Angela, I am sure this will have helped prevent any damage. All the same you did the right thing getting Dexter straight to the vet. Damn poison. I really hope you are both OK after such a horrible experience. Lots of hugs to you from us xoxoxox
Poor Dexter and you. You did the right thing straight away. Let us know how he gets on. Hugs to you both xx
How scary and worrying, I hope that Dexter is ok and will have no repercussions. Lucky you were so quick and he dropped it immediately. I bet you have your eyes on him like a hawk atm. Such a worry for you.
Oh Angela! What a worry! You would probably have realised if he had actually eaten/chomped any of it. All the same, not going to help you worry less. Think I would be doing the blood test as Lochan suggests I I were you. Hope the boy is just fine and wondering what all the palaver is. xx
Thankyou everyone,you are always so supportive and kind and I know you will know exactly how I felt xxxx Lochan you are angel for stopping by ,thankyou x Everything you have said is exactly what the vet said ,and that makes me feel so much better .she's given me 2 weeks tablets initially but she said she really doesn't think he absorbed much if any.I forgot to say that I did give him some charcoal when we got home from the clinic which was about an hour and 30 after he did it,so glad i did that. Jen (great to see you x) she weighed him and trawled through lots on her data base working out the risk which left her concluding it was minimal. Long tern members might remember all my fears of reported poisonings in residential areas and desert areas when we first got Dexter especially after my own vet had a dog die at their clinic.I was so worried I even considered muzzling him until I got a reliable leave and drop.....so to have it happen literally outside my gate is awful.I'll have rings run round me tomorrow trying to get to the bottom of it but I will perservere......it will have been an accident but the consequences could have been awful and I don't want it happening to anyone else x amended post title to be more helpful in the Search option,although hopefully no one will ever be need it x
Oh my gosh, Angela, just catching up with this. How terrifying for you! Everything crossed that you don't see any symptoms of anything and Dexter comes out of this completely unscathed.
You acted so quickly....good for you! It is also a good lesson for all of us since I probably would have been in a dither to what to do next if the same thing happened to mine. Now I it will be straight to the vet's. From all the posts, I think all will be OK. Good luck.
What a worry, thank heavens you were so alert. It does look as if the quick treatment means all will be well and also backed up by Lochan, should put your mind at rest.
What a fright, you poor thing. Sounds like it was just the one block and he didn't eat any. I hope you can get the message across to those responsible.
