A VET has warned dog owners after sausages laced with suspected poison were discovered in an idyllic Devon town.
The alarm was raised by a horrified dog walker who found the slices of meat scattered along a river in Clyst Honiton.
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The woman raced to Facebook and shared photos of the dark blue substance pressed into the sausage.
“Be aware walking your dog on the river, someone has left bits of sausage in the grass with blue stuff in it. I found several bits,” she wrote on the community Facebook page.
The post was shared more than 670 times, including by Medivet in Exeter and Cranbrook who echoed her concern.
“We’ve been informed by a member of the public of the below post regarding sausage with poison inside being spread down by the river in Clyst Honiton,” they wrote.
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“Please avoid the area of keep your dog on a lead and if you think your dog could’ve eaten any please contact a vet immediately!”
Locals flocked to the comment section to share their concern over the discovery.
“Could be slug pellets or rat poison?” one wrote.
“This should be a prison sentence,” said another.
A third questioned the severity of the finding, writing: “Ever thought that it could be fish bait??”
The RSPCA’s website lists a number of substances that pose fatal threats to dogs – slug and snail pellets being one of them.
Pellets that contain metaldehyde are “extremely serious and usually fatal without urgent treatment”, according to the charity.
The pellets are sold in various forms but they are often blue.
Rodent posions, which can also come in the form of blue chunks, can prevent blood clotting and may cause dogs to bleed out.
This comes after vets warned pet owners not to leave their furry friends in uninsulated conservatories during the hot summer months.
Figures from Conservatory Insulations show a third of homeowners use their conservatories for their pets.
While these sunny spaces can be enjoyable for our furry friends, the Met Office and British Veterinary Association (BVA) has warned that they pose significant risks to animal safety during hot weather, particularly without the correct insulation.
The BVA warning published on the Met Office site says: “Never leave your pet inside a car or conservatory, even for a quick trip to the supermarket, as ‘not long’ can prove fatal.”
Three steps if you think your dog has been posioned
If you suspect your dog has eaten something toxic, it can be extremely worrying. Here’s the RSPCA’s guide of what to do
- Stay calm and move your dog away from the source of the poison.
- Contact your vet immediately and give them as much information as you can.
- Follow the vet’s advice – they will tell you what the situation is depending on the poison and how much the dog has ingested.
The website also gives advice on what to do whilst waiting for the vet:
- Don’t attempt to treat or medicate the dog yourself – some medicines for humans and other animals may also be poisonous
- Never attempt to make dogs vomit, especially with salt water as it’s extremely dangerous
- If the skin or fur is contaminated, wash with a mild shampoo and water
- Keep dogs away from other animals to avoid cross-contamination
Temperatures inside an insulated conservatory can rise to 40C, which can be hotter than California’s notorious Death Valley, yet two-thirds of 25 to 44-year-olds revealed their pets use the space more than they do.
Every summer, vets treat pets for heat-related conditions like heatstroke, breathing problems and burnt paw pads.
Read more on the Scottish Sun
Dogs are most often affected and even on overcast days, conservatory temperatures can soar rapidly and become dangerously hot.
Cutting-edge technology from Conservatory Insulations, known as CHRIS, can help your conservatory stay cool by reflecting 95 per cent of direct sunlight so the temperature can be controlled throughout the year.
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