Cathie Kramer is sounding a warning about the potential danger of using rat poison. Her small dog almost died after ingesting some that had been dragged or dropped in her fenced backyard.
Daisy, a 14-pound Pekingese-Pomeranian, is now recovering on medication, but had the Kramers not found the rat poison hidden in their garden, the little dog would likely have died a horrible death.
“It was just by luck that my husband saw the blue bag in our backyard,” said Kramer who lives on 44 Avenue in Brookswood.
“We rushed her to Apex Veterinary Hospital where Dr. Rana made her throw up.”
The Kramers are publicly thanking Apex hospital for caring for their dog.
Blood tests showed that two-year-old Daisy had eaten the poison.
Rat poison is a blood thinner and if eaten, it causes the internal organs to bleed out, she said.
The poison often comes in a blue pellet and sometimes in a clear bag, as was the case for the Kramers.
The family says the rat poison may have been dragged into their fenced yard by raccoons, squirrels or dropped by any number of birds, like crows.
“What if that packet had found its way into a yard with small children? It looks like a bag of candy,” said Kramer. After a thorough search of their backyard, they found a few more pieces of bag and pellets, the remainder of the poison, scattered throughout their yard and garden.
She asked her neighbours on either side and they said they hadn’t used any rat poison.
“It could have come from anywhere,” she said.
“Daisy will eat anything, unfortunately.”
Cats that eat mice also run the risk of ingesting the poison through their prey.
Kramer asks that if people are having a rat or mice problem, to think about how to deal with it, and if they use rat poison, to make sure it is secure to their own yard.
“If you are having a rat problem buy a trap or call pest control, as careless handling of this product can have dire consequences,” she said.
Daisy has had to go daily for Vitamin K shots and will be on medication for another week but is expected to fully recover.