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by Sunsilver on 14 January 2008 - 16:01
From the Shioh Shepherd message forum, reposted with permission. This poor lady had her 7 mo. old bitch drop dead at her feet from a brain hemhorrage:
I wanted to confirm the cause of Bella's passing with all of you, in hopes that it might save the life of another dog. I'll share a quick summary first, then a detailed description for those who want to read further. I've also included information on what to do if you suspect rat poisoning, and what you can do in your own yard to make it as safe as possible. It's the least I can do in honor of Bella.
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In Summary:
Bella consumed a poisoned rat that she found in our yard. It is unknown at this time if it was alive or dead. Her fever was a reaction to the consumption, much like food poisoning. The poison caused a thinning of the blood and by day 13 she collapsed and died without warning due to internal bleeding (hemorrhaging) from the anticoagulant used in rat poison.
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Documented Effect of Rat Poisoning:
Anticoagulants are defined as chronic (death occurs after 1 - 2 weeks post ingestion of the lethal dose, rarely sooner), single-dose or multiple dose cumulative rodenticides. This leads to disruption of the vitamin K cycle, resulting in inability of production of essential blood-clotting factors.
Toxic doses of anticoagulants cause damage to tiny blood vessels (capillaries), increasing their permeability, causing diffuse internal bleedings (hemorrhaging). These effects are gradual, they develop in course of days and are not accompanied by any nociceptive perceptions, such as pain or agony. In final phase of the intoxication, the animal collapses in shock or severe anemia and dies.
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Additional Details (Long):
In the week before Christmas my nephew noticed a fresh cache of food and rat poop under a board in the breezeway. He mentioned it to me and cleaned it up right away. The previous evening I had heard scratching in the house walls, rats seems to always find their way under the house during the winter. So I wasn't surprised to find out they were hiding out in the breezeway too.
I stopped feeding Bella outdoors, although I did so only occasionally anyway, so that any residual food wasn't picked up by the rat or rats. She started to want to go out to the potty yard more frequently so I would let her out and watch her from the window to stay warm. She seemed obsessed with going back and forth from the garden shed (which borders the neighbors property), to the wood pile, to the breeze way. Back and forth, back and forth with her nose to the ground. She loved tracking things and was obviously obsessed with tracking the trail of the rat.
by Sunsilver on 14 January 2008 - 16:01
I remember telling a friend who came to the house that week that Bella was barking at the door to be let out so she could go "rat hunting". I guess in my mind I thought that a rat wouldn't dare come in the yard now that she was so aware of it's presence. I didn't consider that it might be poisoned, and the subsequent danger of her consuming one. Rats can eat more than 20 times of the amount poison necessary to kill them because they stuff themselves when they find something to eat and carry some home also. So when they die, they can have a very lethal amount of poison in their bodies.
Bella had a VERY high prey drive. I had to watch her carefully around the cats, even though she loved them, because if they streaked across the living room they became prey. She would also get more than just a little excited when she would see crows on the ground, or seagulls, or squirrels, etc. I could tell it was more than just puppy play because every muscle in her face would grow taunt and she could no longer hear my voice as she lunged towards them - that internal instinct switch would flip on and it seemed to consume her mind and shut me out. I always had to refocus her attention to control her. She was very obedient though so refocusing her attention always worked and I learned to catch it the instant she grew taunt with excitement.
Bella either caught the rat in it's last moments or found it dead. Due to her high prey drive she most likely consumed it immediately even if she didn't really want to. I imagine it was even very exciting for her at the time. I first noticed she was extra tired on December 22nd, the day before the fever started. So she probably had consumed it that morning and was beginning to react to the consumption of the flesh much like a dog or human would to food or garbage poisoning.
By the next day, December 23rd, she developed a very high fever of 105 degrees. I took her to ER and the vet was mystified as to why she had a fever but no other symptoms. No coughing or mucus or vomiting, etc. Gums good color, heart good, no murmur, respiration good (just a little panting due to the fever), lungs were clear. He palpitated her everywhere to check for painful places and found nothing... except her abdomen was sore.
Bella was happy to see the nurses at the ER even though she was feverish and would put her ears back in that submissive loving way, wiggling her butt and sitting down as she had been taught, knowing affection was coming. The nurses all loved her and wanted to know who the breeder was, etc.
The vet decided to take a blood test to check for elevated or diminished white blood cells, that sort of thing, to help him try to figure out what might be wrong. While they ran tests on the blood and gathered the results, which they can do in-house, I laid next to Bella in the back of the Jeep Liberty I had bought for her and covered us both with a little blanket. We were both cold and tired, so our bodies kept each other warm and I fell asleep with my arm around her.
We woke to a tap on the window and they said we should come in to talk to the Vet about the results of the blood test. Bella was very alert and began sniffing at some beef jerky I had bought so I gave her a piece. I was elated that she was hungry! She consumed the entire bag and we went inside. I let the vet know that even with her fever Bella was quite hungry and was now wondering where the water bowl was! The vet seemed very happy about that and kneeling down, he pet her and asked if she would come home with him and be his dog.
He went over the blood test with me, a CBC and chemistry panel, and showed me that the white blood cell counts were normal. He went over a few other things on the test which I listened to but mostly I was just so excited that the Vet didn't find anything wrong. He even said to me, "Kim, I have to tell you that I don'
by Sunsilver on 14 January 2008 - 16:01
He even said to me, "Kim, I have to tell you that I don't know what is causing this fever". The only thing that would match what he was seeing was some type of poisoning, he said, most likely food poisoning from the mildness of the symptoms.
He gave me antibiotics for her as a matter of course, sent us on our way and said that if the fever didn't go away within a few days that I should take her to my regular vet for a follow up.
The next day, Christmas eve, her fever was down to 102.5 and she was eating, drinking, chasing the cats, etc. It was like the best Christmas gift I had ever received! She was better! I had been crying for two days because I had been so scared by her high fever. Now she was back to normal but just a little tired, which I attributed to fighting the fever and the energy that requires. Both her eyes were still very bloodshot though, this I also contributed to the fever, like our eyes get red sometimes when we are sick.
In hindsight, we realize now that her eyes were showing signs of hemorrhaging from the poison and the thinning of the blood. The fever masked this and fooled us into thinking everything was fine, because the went away.
Thirteen days after consuming the rat, Bella went from being a happy, dancing 7 month old pup to immediate death in less than 10 seconds due to hemorrhaging of the brain, the final result of the anticoagulant in the rat poison. She literally dropped dead right before my eyes, it happened that fast. She was acting so normal and happy, ready for her favorite activity - a walk with her favorite person. Her brain went first and the rest of her body immediately followed.
She was my forever dog and I was her forever person. I didn't realize that forever was going to be so short.
Thank you for reading our story. God Bless each and every one of you and your pets. Please give them each a big hug in memory of Bella.
Below I have additional information on what you can do if you suspect rat poisoning and what you can do in your yard to help keep rats away.
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What you can do if you suspect rat poisoning:
Please use this info as a starting place for further research. I am by no means an expert. Mostly the word I want to get out to you is that consuming poisoned rats or rat poison isn't necessarily a death sentence. HAD I KNOWN THE FOLLOWING I could have possibly saved Bella's life. I feel horrible beyond description about that and I hope that by sharing my story, the lesson I learned the hardest, most unfathomable way can help others.
RUSH YOUR DOG TO THE VET: The vet should be immediately involved of course. Rush your pet there immediately. If your vet is more than just a few minutes away though, there is much you can do at home before you go or en-route which you will read below.
INDUCE VOMITTING: If your dog has just consumed the poison they may be made to vomit it up. This is knowledge we should all have (how to induce vomiting) for a lot of reasons. I don't want to give instructions myself due to it's extreme importance but perhaps someone more qualified than myself in the forum will add their comments, if not there is a lot of information online and in books.
PREVENT ABSORPTION: Cathartics and adsorbants (such as charcoal) can be used to prevent the poison from entering the animals system. Please use this info as a starting place for further research.
THERE IS AN ANTIDOTE FOR ANTICOAGULANT POISONS: There is an antidote readily available for anticoagulant rodenticide poisoning. It is simply Vitamin K. It is generally given as an injection and once the animal is stable, tablets can be used. Your vet will prescribe this and monitor your dog to know when to discontinue the therapy.
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Thoughts on keeping rats out
by Sunsilver on 14 January 2008 - 16:01
Thoughts on keeping rats out of your yard:
I live in town, so if you live on large property or acreage where your dog runs free the following probably won't be as applicable to you. But if you have a smaller amount of property or your dogs are confined most of the time in a fenced area the following might be helpful:
Rats can find their way into your yard through digging or climbing, despite our best efforts to keep them out. There are still a few things we can do that can help with this.
1) ELIMINATE OUTDOOR FOOD: They are primarily attracted to food in your yard. This includes dropped seed from bird feeders, accessible garbage, dropped fruit and pet food.
2) ELIMINATE HIDING SPOTS: Rats don't like it out in the open and will usually just skirt your fence or other border in a hurried manner if they are just passing through. But if you have hiding spots they will be attracted to these, even perhaps die there from poison, or store food there, even nest and have babies. In my yard accessible to Bella I had a small wood pile, a garden shed open on the bottom and a few boards temporarily stored in the breezeway. That's it but that was enough. (I am in the process now of moving the wood pile to the carport where it unaccessible to any of my pets, including the cats, framing in the bottom of the garden shed and clearing out the breezeway.
3) ALTERNATIVE RAT CONTROL: Although there are supposedly "non toxic" chemically based rat poisons available on the market, these are still under suspicion as to whether or not they can harm your pet. I personally am not going to take a chance on these. However, if you have a rat problem there are non-toxic methods to control them. I encourage you to study this and find something suitable for your situation. For me, I will be purchasing several electronic rat / mouse zappers. These are essentially small boxes powered by D cell batteries. You place peanut butter inside and when they step on the area surrounding the food it delivers a shock that kills them instantly. A red light comes on when this has occurred so the box can be emptied and reset. There are other devices available, this one seems most suitable for my home since we live in town. I'll place two under the house (one at each end), one under or inside the garden shed and one in the carport.
4) TALK TO YOUR NEIGHBORS: If you have neighbors near by, find out in a neighborly way if they are putting out poison for rat or mouse control. If the do, or are considering doing so, tell them you know of a dog (Bella) who recently died from eating a poisoned rat and perhaps offer information on methods of rat control that won't harm pets.
Kim
Bella (Gunny / Zora 06-01-07, Solace Shilohs)
by eichenluft on 14 January 2008 - 16:01
The amount of poison necessary to kill a rat is very small - doubtful it would be enough to be fatal to a GSD-sized dog. Is it possible she actually got into the poison itself? That would be my suspicion. And, if the owners saw her consuming a rat, that (since it was dead/dying in the yard in plain sight) was obviously poisoned - why didn't they take action at that time - A) make her vomit the rat/poison immediately B) take her to the vet immediately for poison-control measures?
molly
by Sunsilver on 14 January 2008 - 16:01
!) The owner had NO IDEA that she had eaten a dead rat, or I am sure she would have taken action, and called the vet.
2) I suppose it IS faintly possible the dog somehow got access to poison put out by the nieghbours. HOWEVER, the above posts represent the scenario AS GIVEN BY HER VETERINARIAN following a necropsy and other tests to determine the cause of death. The yard the dog was let out in to do its business was fully fenced, and at no time was the dog allowed to roam free. If you read the post again, you will see where she says that rats will GORGE themselves, and eat many times the lethal dose in one sitting if they find a good supply of food. They will also carry food back to the nest. After what happened to Shandra's dogs, we know that dogs will eat rat bait, so maybe Bella got hold of poison bait brough back to the nest by the rats.
by Rezkat5 on 14 January 2008 - 17:01
We had a small dog, maybe 10 pounds eat a dead mouse that was poisoned and she got quite sick from it. Survived at least.
Rat poison scares the crap out of me. So not something you will ever catch me using!
by hodie on 14 January 2008 - 17:01
We just had this discussion a few weeks ago. This is yet another sad story and something that might have been prevented. One should NEVER, EVER use these products in areas where any pet has access. Small amounts of these poisons are very toxic and can set a cascade in motion within a dog that will result in death some days later from eating a mouse or rat that is also poisoned. One will not know what the actual dose ingested was, but it could be figured out retrospectively from expensive toxicology tests. Also, some animals are more sensitive to a given poison than others, just as in humans. There is a wide response to toxins, depending on organism and individual.
There ARE MANY alternative methods to catch and kill rats and mice. If one cannot find a method that works, then KEEP the DOG ON A LEASH at all times when it is outside. These tragic situations CAN BE PREVENTED.
by Sunsilver on 14 January 2008 - 19:01
I would like to make a couple of things very plain for those of you who may not have had the time or patience to read all of the initial posts.
1)The owner of the dog was NOT the one who put out the poison.
2)The owner had no idea that one of her neighbours had put out poison.
3)The dog was poisoned in its own backyard, which was fully fenced.
MORAL OF THE STORY: If you see rodent activity in your yard, take immediate action. Put out traps, and ask the neighbours to use similar, non-toxic methods to prevent harming your pets. Do NOT assume your animals are safe, just because YOU do not use poison!
by KEYCAT on 14 January 2008 - 20:01
I have to post and say that I had an 80 lb Rottweiler eat a 1 lb block of bar bait "just one bite" rat poison,after digging into the garage where it was put. After rushing him to the emergency vets,the vet told me that it was not enough to kill him or cause any internal bleeding,that it is made to kill a 1 lb rat,and not an 80 lb dog. I could only have faith in the Dr's instuctions and sure enough the dog was fine,lived to a ripe old ,age. KeyCat
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