Dogsey

Concerns have been raised that someone may be trying to poison pets after a dog suddenly became ill during a walk in Buntingford, Hertfordshire on October 17. Blue, a Weimaraner rescue dog, was subsequently found to have kidney and liver failure and would have died if he hadn't received prompt veterinary treatment.

Blue was being walked in a field behind the Cougars football pitch off London road by his owner, Patricia Scott, when he disappeared. Patricia said: “I called after him in the dark for about 20 minutes. I found him on the football field and straight away I saw something wasn't right. Usually he's very bouncy but as soon as he got to me he lay down.

“The vet said he had kidney failure and liver failure. They said it could be rat poison or anti-freeze and that when a dog had been poisoned three days before it had been fatal. Blue would have been dead if it wasn't for his size and the fact he was treated so quickly.”

Buntingford town councillor Teresa Bonner, who highlighted the incident to the attention of Buntingford Town Council on October 30 told a local newspaper that “the police said it was rife in Stevenage” - a neighbouring town - and that it took the form of bread dipped in anti-freeze.

“I don't know if it's people who resent dog owners taking their pets onto football pitches or just somebody with an aversion to animals,” she said.

The Chairman of Buntingford Cougars, Darren Fitzgerald, said that most of the managers and coaches are dog lovers who probably use the area to walk their own dogs. “Where any poison could come from is baffling to me,” he added.

Anyone with information are advised to contact police on 101 their safer neighbourhood team.