A walk in Greece can easily cost your dog his or her life because ruthless people time and again place poisoned bait with the intention to kill not only foxes, jackals and martens but indeed also dogs and/or cats. Please read our pages about poison carefully and pay attention to the advice given! Make sure to always keep your dog within sight during walks and don’t allow him to pick up or lick anything he finds! The safest way of preventing poisoning is to put a muzzle on your dog during walks. Make sure that the dog can pant and drink with the muzzle! Arguments such as “But certainly where I walk my dog there is no poison!”, “But I have been walking that route forever without anything happening!” or “But I have my dog on lead!” carry no weight at all! If the people putting the poison would act in a logical way prevention of poisoning would be easy! The life-threatining substance used is usually a pesticide that can be bought freely and cheaply anywhere. Those pesticides can have a very speedy effect and can lead to the death of your dog within a matter of minutes if you don’t act! For that reason, EVERY TIME you take your dog for a walk, a vomitive agent (Filtalon) and atropine should be carried IN YOUR POCKET as quick action can save your dog’s life! Those meds are very cheap in Greece and can be bought in any pharmacy. During the hot season they should be replaced frequently or carried with a small icepack. In a pharmacy, ask for the following:
When you observe uncontrolled spasms and heavy salivation on your dog you need to act immediately! Inject atropine immediately. DOSAGE OF ATROPINE: 1 ml = 1 vial per 10 kilo of dog’s body weight. Inject into the muscle or into the neck. Symptoms should subside after 10 minutes. As soon as symptoms start to increase again – it is possible that the poisonous substance has a much longer effect than the atropine – repeat the same dosage (if required multiple times). ATTENTION: when pupils are dilated do not continue injections. Rapid pulse due to the atropine is normal. Next, induce vomiting by administering Filtalon so that the poisoned bait is discharged. Do this only on the condition that the poison has been taken in by the dog during the last 30 to 60 minutes at most and that the animal is conscious. Vomiting can lead to suffocation otherwise. DOSAGE OF FILTALON: 0,2 ml (equals one tenth of the vial’s content) per 10 kilo of the dog’s body weight. Inject subcutaneously. Buy a syringe of 1 ml content for the Filtalon for exact dosing. Attention: only apply once – do not repeat when no reaction can be observed!!! If you have never administered a shot: Make sure there is no air in the syringe (by holding it needle up, flicking and then squeezing it until the first droplet comes out on top) and then grab the skin in the neck of your dog in such a fashion that the skin forms a roll parallel to the dog’s body. With the other hand insert the syringe parallely to the skin roll. Don’t worry, the dog won’t feel a thing! While inserting the syringe hold it by its body in order not to start emptying it before your have properly inserted it. It is important that the needle does not exit anywhere; to prevent that the needle has to be inserted parallely to the skin roll. Practice injecting a syringe on a stuffed animal in order to be prepared in case of emergency! Additionally you can administer activated carbon tablets after the dog has vomited and as soon as the animal is able to swallow again. If vomiting could not be induced you should insist on pumping of the stomach when you get to the vet. You should in any case file a complaint with the local police. The use of poison to kill animals is prohibited in Greece! According to the European Companion Animal Law 3170/2003 the killing of companion animals is punishable with imprisonment up to six months and / or a fine from 300 to 1500 Euros. |
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