Pet owners alert – poison bait designed for dogs in Eslarn?

Image: Gäbl / exb-Mayor Reiner Gäbl and his Paula: Whether poison or not, fortunately Paula is still alive after treatment. “>

Mayor Reiner Gäbl and his Paula: Whether poison or not, Paula is fortunately still alive after treatment.

Image: Gäbl / exb

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Reiner Gäbl has a hard time believing in coincidence, he says. He himself knows of five cases within a short time, spread all over the place, including the case of his own dog named Paula. Two of the five dogs died. A few days ago, Gäbl issued a press release stating that dog owners in the community should be vigilant.

Five cases all over the market

What makes the mayor so suspicious is the fact that the incidents are spread across the entire town. “So you can assume that this is not about a neighbor who is upset about a dog,” he says.

Gäbl talks about his Paula. The black mongrel goes to the neighbour’s every morning and “knocks” on the balcony door to pick up a treat. A meanwhile irrevocable agreement between the neighbor and Paula. If Paula doesn’t come, the neighbor asks Gäbl what is going on. Since the alleged poisoning of Paula, the mayor has not let the dog out of the house alone; What has a good thing: “Now I get a treat too.”

Suspicion yes, but no evidence

How specific is the suspicion? Not much. Nobody has found anything tangible or had something examined in which poison could be detected. Without a poisoned bait, everything remains speculation. Gäbl says his vet, Dr. In the case of Paulas, Helmut Fischer in Schönsee suggested that it could be poison, but that this can only be verified with the help of a clear bait. Fischer confirms this when asked. The symptoms would have indicated poisoning. “But we could not find solid evidence of a poison,” says Fischer.

“You have to be careful there”

Vohenstrauss veterinarian Dr. Yvonne Federl. Proven intoxications are very rare. The symptoms were often very similar to organ diseases, and poisoning is commonly assumed. The suspicion quickly arises, evidence is hardly ever given. “You have to be really careful about that,” she says. A cat that has died of kidney failure looks like a cat that has been poisoned. At the same time it is of course possible that a poison has destroyed the kidney. The famous question about the hen and the egg.

According to Federl, he is generally very cautious about the diagnosis of poison. Also because an autopsy almost never takes place after the death of an allegedly poisoned animal. Little wonder: Detecting toxins in the blood is difficult and expensive. Without any indication in a certain direction, it would be poking around in a haystack.

Emergency measure: vomiting

In such cases, however, clairaudience doesn’t hurt, says Federl, especially since there are also cases of epidemics. A dog can catch leptospirosis just by drinking from a puddle. Here too, symptoms could be misinterpreted as poisoning. But Federl does not hide the fact that there are always cases of poisoning. The first remedy of choice is then to make the dog vomit. If this does not work out on his own, the vet has medication that enables him to vomit almost immediately.

Two dead dogs, two sick

For Gäbl, the fact remains significant that two dogs have already died in the community who had symptoms similar to those of his Paula. And two more dogs could just about have been saved. She, too, with symptoms that suggested poisoning.

According to his description, Mayor Paula lay apathetically in the house from one minute to the next. Gäbl didn’t hesitate and Paula quickly landed at Dr. Fischer who took her blood and administered pain medication. “And that’s how she was saved,” says Gäbl.

Police: You must report them

The Upper Palatinate Police Headquarters does not list animal poisoning individually, as its spokesman for Chief Inspector Florian Beck says. The offense flows into the offenses under the Animal Welfare Act and property damage, which also includes other injuries or abuse of animals. Beck offers a detailed evaluation for the Upper Palatinate, which, however, could no longer be carried out by the editorial deadline.

Possible three years in prison

The police spokesman points out that the application of poisonous bait is a criminal offense that is punishable by up to three years imprisonment or a fine. Detected cases should be reported consistently so that other pet owners can be warned and criminal proceedings can be initiated.