INFORMATION REGARDING RAT POISON

A Highland Meadow owner wrote us this week with the following story to share…some info was edited for length…

“I have used pet approved rat bait traps for years as there is a wooded creak area about 200 yards over from us and I have neighbors that free feed their dogs.

Our dog, Bonnie, was able to get the boxes from under the bricks, shake the boxes in the five directions needed to get the poison bars out of the mazes and emptied both boxes. She ate 4 high strength rat bars. This common form of rat bait is the same a cumaden which is prescribed for stroke victims and heart afib. It stops the body from producing vitamin K which after approximately 5-7 days causing the blood to thin to the point of causing internal bleeding of the organs.

The vet has never saved a dog from rat poison and was preparing me to have her put down. The blood work showed that she was not anemic yet so I decided to have an IV started with vitamin K and the vet also started her on antibiotics. After 2 days bonnie was coming back strong. She has improved daily and yesterday she ran and caught the Frisbee at full pace. I think she will have a full recovery with little or no long-term lung problems.

I have done some research on rat poison and found that it is very treatable if it is known that an animal or person has taken it. Because it takes 5-7 days to act, being aware is the key. Vitamin K is the antidote. It can be found in most pharmacies. I will keep some in my cabinet. The normal dose is 25 mg twice a day for dogs for 4-6 weeks. I believe it is 5-10 mg a day for humans. Rat poison is made with brown sugar coating and other sweeteners to attract rats. This was irresistible for Bonnie from what I have witnessed. It usually starts with a cough and low energy. This is usually misdiagnosed as respiratory infection and treated with antibiotics. As a rule 2 more days will pass and then it is too late. If I hadn’t paid attention Bonnie would not be here today.

-Mike