Strychnine ruled out in dog death, but owners still concerned

Strychnine has been ruled out as the suspected cause of a basset hound's death in Saskatoon. But the owners still want to know why their animal died so suddenly after visiting a dog park.

Dr. Teresa Chu collected samples of stomach fluid and "mystery chicken meat" that the dog Norman had vomited, and sent them to a lab for analysis.

She said the results came back negative for strychnine, a commonly used pesticide for killing birds and rodents.

Chu said she had suspected poisoning because of the dog's uncontrollable seizures.

"Usually if a dog was seizuring because of a medical issue or because of low blood sugar or because of epilepsy, a lot of times it can be easily controlled by anticonvulsants," Chu said. "This dog did not respond to multiple doses of anticonvulsants."

The short elapse of time between Norman's visit to the Avalon dog park and the onset of symptoms also raised Chu's suspicions. Norman was showing symptoms within half an hour of being at the dog park, and strychnine will start to work within 20 to 60 minutes of ingestion, she said.

The lab result leaves the case unresolved. The clinic paid for the strychnine testing, and Chu said she does not have the budget to test for other possible poisons.

"This was a dog that was adopted three months ago with a history of being stray, so I don't even know whether this dog had a history of any other conditions that can predispose seizuring," Chu said.

She also said that Norman's body appeared to be in good condition, and there is no reason to believe he had another medical condition causing seizures such as liver or kidney failure.

Epilepsy remains a possibility, as does poisoning by some other unidentified substance, whether intentionally or by accident, Chu said.

"You can get mycotoxins that can be present in decaying vegetation that can cause seizuring," she explained. 

City warning dog owners to take extra precautions

The city of Saskatoon is warning dog owners to take extra care with their pets in the Avalon Park, although there is no confirmation that poisonous materials are in the park. 

"The City expresses sincere sympathy to the family that has experienced the loss of their pet," it wrote in a release.

Crews have already inspected the park and found nothing out of the ordinary. The city added that officials may refer the matter to the police.

The release also said no other similar incidents have happened in the past at dog parks. The city does not use poisons for rodents or other animals in the dog parks, it added.

Meanwhile, the owners of the dog are still concerned.

"I was just disappointed we didn't get to find out an actual result," Renae Goudal said. "But I still think it's poison. Even if it's natural or unnatural, it's still a toxin. Something poisoned him."

Goudal said she hopes the poisoning wasn't intentional, but she still has suspicions since her dog became so sick immediately after leaving the dog park. She said she found pieces of chicken in the dog's vomit when he became sick, but she hadn't fed him chicken meat. Even rancid meat would not likely have been life-threatening she said.

Since the only test was for strychnine, Goudal said she would like to have a necropsy to know for certain how her dog died. It costs up to $600 and the results might not be conclusive. A local animal advocacy group has set up a crowd funding page to help her pay for the procedure. 

Goudal said a conclusive result would give her peace of mind. 

"I lost my dog, I don't want anyone else to lose theirs."