A Whakatāne woman has been left shaken after discovering rat poison and ham shavings on her front lawn.
Hillena Parsons, who lives near Sullivan’s Lake, believes the poison was intended for her much-loved German Shepherd Rocco.
“I got up this morning, looked out my window and saw something on the grass,” Parsons said.
“After taking a closer look I realised it was slices of shaved ham and rat bait.”
Parsons said she was shocked at the find.
“Someone had obviously chucked it either underneath or over my fence during the night but luckily
Rocco sleeps with me. However I had let him out at 6.30am so I wasn’t sure if he had eaten
anything.”
Parsons called Police and the Whakatāne District Council before taking Rocco to the vet as a precautionary measure.
“I’m glad I did. They gave him a pill to induce vomiting but said there wasn’t any blue rat bait in his stomach.”
She was told often when dogs ingested rat bait, there were no visible symptoms until day three. “By then they are so sick they cannot often be saved.
“I felt sick to my stomach for much of the day and was often close to tears thinking someone could do this to my very best friend – I love him so much.”
Parsons said almost all her neighbours knew Rocco and knew how friendly he was.
“He didn’t deserve this at all.”
Parsons wants to warn other dog owners to be vigilant with their pets.
