A look into life in lesser developed countries...

sarahp

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My aunt is living in the Seychelles which is off Eastern Africa with her husband and 2 kids. My uncle is working in a job involving trying to set up the fishing industry so they can better support themselves, and my aunt volunteers at the local animal welfare group helping with spay and neuters (she's a nurse by trade) and just helping out where she can.

The government there is ridiculously corrupt, and they don't answer to anyone. She's just been telling me that she's currently trying to save a friends dog's life. She says:

At the moment I'm trying to save a friends dog from dying - we think it ate rat poison and although the vets here have given Vit K I am wondering if we should give more!! The vets are not known for being aggressive in their treatment and certainly don't care about the outcome of their treatment!!


We have been having ongoing problems with all sorts of poisoning, at the moment they (Ministry of Environment) are using an organophosphate (very nasty death) as a means of dog control. We (SSPCA) keep going round in circles, but we won't give up!!
They only have basic facilities, and not a lot of skill and knowledge so it makes it very hard. And that's just for the animals.

The stories my aunt has about the way the country is run and how much corruption there is in the Government would blow your mind...

And if anyone knows of any good way to help a dog that's eaten rat poison, please let me know ASAP...
 

white cat lover

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I know of someone who lived in Egypt for awhile. Couldn't hardly walk her dogs in her own yard for fear of them being poisoned. She saved a few puppies out of a litter, but the mom & other's she couldn't get to.

They just leave out rat poison as a means of dog population control.
It's ridiculous. Most people don't keep dogs as pets, but rather see them as "vermin".
 
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sarahp

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Golly she just said (I love instant messenger...)

The last paper that belongs to the elected government had a front page article about a mermaid that was found on one of the beaches, hazy photo included - I think it was designed to take everyones mind off all the shortages and increases in prices!!
 

natalie_ca

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It depends on the type of poison it was. I found a human treatment which should also apply to dogs... but it depends on the type of poison.

http://www.marvistavet.com/html/body_rat_poison.html

THERAPY

If the patient has only just ingested the poison, he or she may be made to vomit it up. Cathartics and adsorbants can be used to prevent the poison from entering the patientâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s sy system. Still, it is prudent to use the antidote anyway. Certainly, if there is evidence that the patient is bleeding, the antidote obviously is required.

The antidote is simply Vitamin K.

Vitamin K is generally started as an injection and when the patient is stable. Tablets are prescribed. The human formulation, available at most drug stores, is a 5mg tablet. The veterinary strength is a 25mg tablet. Blood transfusions may be needed to stabilize a patient who has suffered significant blood loss.

There are different classes of anticoagulant rodenticides and they remain in the body for several weeks. It is hard to know when to discontinue therapy, especially if the particular rodenticide is not known. After a couple of weeks of therapy, medication is discontinued. Forty-eight hours later a PT test is run. If there is still rodenticide in the patientâ€[emoji]8482[/emoji]s system, the PT will abnormal but the patient will not yet have started to bleed. The results of the PT test will tell the veterinarian whether or not another couple of weeks of Vitamin K are needed.

It is very important to return for the recheck PT test on schedule.
Waiting an extra day or two will allow internal bleeding to recur.

There is no point to doing the PT test while the patient is still taking Vitamin K. The test must be done 48 hours after discontinuing the medication.

When the PT test has returned to normal it is safe to discontinue therapy.

OTHER RODENTICIDES

While anticoagulant rodenticide poisoning is a life-threatening event, at least there is an antidote readily available. Other rodenticides are not as readily reversed. Other rodenticides on the market include:

Vitamin D Analogs (Rat-B-Gone, Quintox)

Bromethalin

Strychnine (gopher bait)

Zinc Phosphide (gopher bait)
 
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sarahp

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Thanks for that - they're doing Vitamin K - my aunt is going to see if the vets will let her try oral vitamin K tablets, she thinks they'll be better absorbed. It's worth a try anyway...
 
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