NEW YORK – Dog lovers in a Manhattan neighborhood are on edge after a man says his beloved pup accidentally ingested poison during one of their walks and is now dead.
Ralph Edwards said no one could resist the infectious energy of his 7-month-old Rottweiler puppy named Cali during their daily walks around their Washington Heights neighborhood.
“He was a bunch and would bark if he had to go to the bathroom, he was funny. Like, with an attitude,” Edwards said.
It was on one of his walks near Cabrini Boulevard and West 181st Street that Edwards suspected the pup had swallowed something he shouldn’t have tasted: rat poison.
“His kidneys were failing, his liver was failing as well,” the dog’s owner said.
In three days, Cali went from acting lethargic and not eating, to needing thousands of dollars in dialysis to survive. Edwards and his wife finally decided they had to put her down, saying they could see in Cali’s face how much pain she was in.
“I did what I could to save her. Obviously, money didn’t save her,” Edwards said. “Maybe it’s just someone trying to get rid of the rodents and they’re doing it the wrong way… I don’t think anyone is doing it maliciously, you know, throwing it away like it’s snow salt.”
The puppy with boundless energy is now a thing of the past, and his death is a warning to other dog owners in the area. Now neighbors are sounding the alarm, posting flyers around the area reminding people to be aware of where they are walking their dog and what the dog might pick up from the ground.
“We tend to see increases in these exposures in cold weather because that’s when the rats come in,” said Dr. Tina Wismer, who directs the ASPCA’s Animal Poison Control Center. “There are three main types of rat poison: some cause internal bleeding, some cause kidney failure, and some cause seizures.”
Wismer said 80 percent of poisoned dogs who receive medical treatment recover after being poisoned, but it all depends on how quickly dog owners seek medical attention and how toxic the rat poison is.
Her advice to dog owners: Be aware of where your dog is sniffing and what they might be ingesting when you go out for a walk. For dogs that like to eat everything in sight and bury their noses in the ground, Dr. Wismer suggests getting a muzzle.
