First Aid for your poisoned pet

Like it or not, pets often come in contact with poisonous substances that could be life threatening.

In my practice, some of the most common forms of poisoning I encounter are:

1. Sevin Poisoning.{{more}} This often occurs when dog owners bathe their dogs using Sevin mixed in water. This is a very toxic poison and can kill your pet. The balance between a toxic dose for the ticks is not much different from the toxic dose that could kill your dog.

Some people also dust the powder into the hair of the animal, the animal licks it and is poisoned.

In the event of intoxication from Sevin, the dog could show the following signs: frothing / foaming from the mouth; muscle tremors and twitching; difficulty in breathing; the animal may vomit, have a diarrhea, salivate profusely.

If you notice these signs and it does not necessarily mean that you will see all of them, you need to act quickly.

• Rinse the dog thoroughly using fresh water.

• If you have a first aid kit at home, the antidote or drug that neutralizes Sevin is atropine. This is an injectable medication that can be injected into the leg of the animal.

• Get the dog to your veterinarian as quickly as possible.

• With this mode of poisoning, trying to make the dog vomit will not be of great help, because, by the time the animal starts to exhibit these symptoms, the poison would have been absorbed into the blood stream. Washing the dog thoroughly would prevent the animal from licking or ingesting more of the poison.

2. Furadan Poisoning:

I encounter this form of poisoning in primarily two scenarios:

a) When people use this poison mixed in fish to kill rats and the dog accidentally eats it.

b) When people purposefully mix it with meat or fish and set for dogs to eat to satisfy some perverted objective.

In both of these cases, the first thing I recommend is to try to make the animal vomit. This could be done by mixing a strong solution of salt and sugar in warm water and forcing the dog to drink it. Be careful not to drown the animal in the process.

From my experience with this poison, it is very potent, and if the dog is not seen quickly by your veterinarian, it will die.

To be continued next week…

For further information, contact: Dr. Collin Boyle
Unique Animal Care Co. Ltd.
Tele: 456 4981
Website: www.uniqueanimalcare.com