A DOG owner has issued a warning over walkies after he had to put his “shadow” to sleep following a suspected poisoning.
And his experience has been echoed by other dog owners across the Woodley and Earley area.
At least another four cases – with some dogs losing the ability to use their back legs – have been reported in the past week.
Last Thursday evening, Phil Hind was walking black Labrador Archie with his daughter. Instead of taking their usual route along the River Loddon behind the Harley Davidson site – as the steps down were closed for maintenance work – they crossed over and walked along Loddon Bridge Road.
He said: “We never noticed anything unusual with Archie apart from the dog being inquisitive and sniffing things as dogs do. He was never off the lead.”
The next morning, Mr Hind said that he noticed that Archie was off his food, but wasn’t going downhill. However, as the day progressed, “he was screaming in pain and violently sick”.
“Dogs are quite resilient really,” he added. “It didn’t make sense. I tried to give him some sips of water.
Mr Hind continued: “There’s no explanation, it all happened so quickly. The deterioration was so quick it’s hard to understand.”
Mr Hind took him to a vet to be assessed and was told that Archie was dehydrated. He was given an anti-sickness injection along with some tins of food to gradually rehydrate him and sips of water.
However, Archie remained week and on Sunday, Mr Hind took him to a second vet where his health declined so much he lost the use of his legs. His heartbeat was also erratic.
“He couldn’t stand up, he couldn’t walk. The vets put a drip on and his heartbeat was 240 – twice what it should be,” Mr Hind said.
“Sadly we had no option. The vets did everything they could to try and boost him but his heart beat was up and down and unstable.
“We will never know what made him so ill and by then only a slim chance of pulling through this with any treatment if it wasn’t already too late by then.
“It is so devastating to see my daughter and upsetting for us both to say goodbye to Archie when only days earlier full of life and years of companionship and love ahead of us.
“My home is so empty without my shadow by my side in every move I made.”
He added: “It was one of the hardest decisions I have ever made and I only hope that all other owners never experience our pain.”
Since sharing his story on social media, other owners have come forward with similar stories.
Another dog owner said that their pet had been very ill after walking around the same area.
There have also been reports of similar cases in Highwood, Woodley and around nearby South Lake.
One commentator wondered if someone had been putting poison down, with rats in the area near the cinema cited as a possible cause – however, the cinema has been closed during the pandemic.
In one case, it is suspected that the dog ate something laced with a slow-acting rat poison and they lost the use of their rear legs.
Two other known cases of suspected poisoning have been identified.
Wokingham.Today under-stands that Wokingham Borough Council has not been carrying out any works in the affected areas.
As a result, the cause of Archie’s death, and the illnesses of the other dogs, remains unexplained for the moment. There have been reports elsewhere in the Thames Valley of poisoned meat being left out which dogs have consumed, but there is no indication that this has happened here.
However, a spokesperson for the RSPCA said that any dog owner who thinks their pet has been poisoned should take quick action
“If anyone suspects that their dog has been harmed they must contact a vet for advice immediately,” they said.
“If possible and safe to do so, they should take along what they think has harmed them.
“Signs of poisoning can be seen anything from 30 minutes after an animal has ingested the chemical, though it can be two or three days before signs of kidney failure are seen.
“The signs of poisoning can include one, or several, of the following: Vomiting, seeming depressed or sleepy, appearing drunk and uncoordinated, seizures, and difficulty breathing.
“People should also take extra care when using any potential dangerous substances, such as antifreeze or slug pellets, to ensure that animals are not affected and that substances are stored appropriately and properly disposed of.
“For more information, visit rspca.org.uk/adviceandwelfare/pets/general/poisoning”
