POT CAN MAKE YOUR PET TURN SLUGGISH

If you regularly read this column, you already know that antifreeze is
the poison that claims the most lives in our four-legged friends. The
other common poisonings we see may surprise you - they are marijuana
and slug bait.

Marijuana is a recreational drug that strongly attracts dogs. They'll
eat it in any form they find it. Dogs get "high" just like people. As
long as the amount of marijuana they consume is small enough, they
will recover from the neurological symptoms it induces. Luckily,
marijuana toxicity is easily prevented.

Metaldehyde is the chemical ingredient of slug bait. This poisoning is
also preventable. Human carelessness is the only reason our
four-leggeds are poisoned. A case we saw a few years ago effectively
illustrates this point.

Susan came home after a night out and was greeted at her front door by
a slimy character. As she started to open her front door, she stepped
squarely on a slug that had been resting on her door mat.

She was repulsed by the incident and swore to get even.

She immediately pulled out a box of slug bait and carefully made
attractive little piles of bait, which no slug could resist, down the
edge of her walk.

Unfortunately, her friendly feline, Sable, followed right behind her.
He found the bait just as attractive as the slugs did. When Susan
turned around and saw her precious Sable licking his chops, she
panicked and called us.

Slug bait causes symptoms such as ataxia (acting as if drunk),
seizures, and nystagmus (the eyes flick from side to side). If a pet
ingests enough, he can die. That said, we consider metaldehyde a
"nice" poison because it causes minimal organ damage.

Recovery is complete if the neurological symptoms are
controlled.

As soon as we saw Sable, we got him to vomit. A dose of hydrogen
peroxide worked within minutes.

Because vomiting doesn't remove all the poison from the intestines, we
also gave him a dose of activated charcoal. This product absorbs
toxins, thereby minimizing the amount that reaches the
bloodstream.

Susan was fortunate. Sable did not develop any neurological signs. If
he had started seizuring, we would have started him on Valium. Most
pets poisoned with metaldehyde come to the hospital already
convulsing. In these cases, we need to keep them sedated for about 24
hours while the metaldehyde is eliminated from their bodies.

If you are using slug bait, be careful with it. Instead of just laying
it on the ground, put it in small piles under plant pots or rocks so
that your pet can't gain access to it.

An alternative to slug bait is to build a slug trap. Sink a pop can in
the ground so that the rim is level with the soil and fill the bottom
third with beer. The slugs are attracted to the smell - they crawl in
but can't get out.

o This weekly column is written to help you, the reader, take better
care of your four-legged companion. All facts presented are a
composite of over 35 years experience in the veterinary field. No
specific cases are described. If you have any questions, or column
suggestions, you can contact us at the Mid-Isle Veterinary Hospital at
752-8969.