Protecting your four legged love ones!!

This is a little off topic for a hunting magazine, but it is a serious topic that I would like to make everyone aware of. This past 4^th of July was a bitter-sweet day for my family and I. I got up about day break that morning to get the grill started for our Independence Day meal. The whole family was getting together for a day of swimming, spending time with each other, and filling up on slow cooked baby back ribs. My grill is setup right off the back of my house, and I noticed my female lab laying on the back porch as I went in and out of the back door getting items for the cook out. She never got up in all my trips, but this didn't really strike me as odd, as Josie was my lazy lab. She didn't fetch, she didn't like water, she just liked sleeping and getting attention. However I began to worry when my father and brother showed up to see how the grilling was going. My brother had brought his dog with him, and Josie would always get up to go check out a new guest and especially a strange dog. After a few minutes I began to realize that Josie had not come out to greet anyone, and that was odd. So I went over and checked on her. She could barely raise her head. As soon as I looked her in the face, I could tell something was seriously wrong. It was a really strange feeling that came over me, and I told my wife then, that we needed to get her to a vet immediately otherwise she was going to die. We got one of the local vets on the phone and got her to the office as quick as we could. The vet could already see by Josie's yellow eyes, that her liver had already began to shutdown. The vet did all she could, giving Josie a wide open IV, antibiotics, and steroids to fight what ever it was that was poisoning her, however our efforts were just not enough to save her, and she passed away later that afternoon on the 4^th of July.

I have racked my brain, walked my property from one end to another, and done a ton of looking on the internet about what plants can be fatal to dogs, trying to figure out what may have killed Josie. What ever it was, it was a potent toxin. Friday evening Josie seem just fine while I was out getting the boat ready to take out on Saturday, and we noticed nothing odd about her. On Saturday, we had noticed that she didn't quite seem herself, by I had no indication that she was in dire need of medical attention. By Sunday morning, she was too weak to even get on her feet. The vet seem to think this was a plant toxin, I am not sure why really. I did assure the vet that with my 4 small children and the dogs, that I do not leave any type of chemical or poison out where they could get into it. I don't don't even own much of that type of stuff, and what I do own stays locked in my metal workshop. As I mentioned above, Josie was a pretty lazy dog, and I have never seen her wander in to the neighbors yard, although it's possible she could have done it during the night. I probably will never know what caused her demise, but I would like to offer some advise to other animal owners. Pay attention to animals behaviors, if you notice anything different check them out immediately. Make sure not to leave out poisons for rats and insects where dogs can get to it. Learn about the vegetation that you plant around your house and that grows wild in your yard and the surrounding yards and woods. Lastly, be careful of what table scraps you give to your animals. Many of the foods we eat everyday, are not good for animals, and may make them sick or worse.

In thinking back over the 5+ years that we had her, she did have a pretty good life. She had 3 litters, totaling 28 puppies in all. She was well fed (maybe a little too much), she was always up to date on shots and meds, and most of all she was loved by our family. She will be missed by our family.

Lastly I want to help all animal owners by pointing them to a web site I found that does a good job in listing plants that are toxic to cats, dogs, and livestock.

ASPCA Animal Poison Control Web Site – There is a lot of good information here on what plants are poisonous and non-poisonous.

http://www.aspca.org/pet-care/poison-control/

Also if you're an iPhone user the ASPCA has an iPhone app with much of the same information as the web site for $2.99.

http://itunes.apple.com/app/pet-safe/id326169298?mt=8

Miss Josephine of Marlow

"Josie"

February 10, 2005 - July 4, 2010