Pet poisoning hits green community

Developers of the Green Community issued a warning to residents following cases of pet poisoning, XPRESS has learnt. A dog and two cats have already died from suspected poisoning — possibly caused by a lethal rat poison — while over 10 severe cases have been reported over the last month within the community, residents said. Properties Investment, the developer behind Green Community, warned animal owners through a community web post. "We are taking this situation seriously," said the developers. They also offered to pay for the autopsy of a pet in order to identify the kind of poison. Andrea Ogden, a British expatriate, lost her beloved cocker spaniel Borg to pet poisoning last month. He was two years old. Her cat Gucci is still in recovery at the vet clinic. "About four weeks ago Borg went for his daily walk. Within eight hours he was barely able to move. He spent the night severely sick. The next morning the vet suspected rat poisoning. Two days later he was no more," says Ogden. Dr Soheyl Simaei, manager, owner and veterinarian at the Noble Veterinary Centre, was working overtime treating Borg, Gucci and other pets brought in for poisoning. "Borg was the most beautiful, playful cocker spaniel," recalls Simaei. "When he was brought in, he had the classic symptoms of poisoning: vomiting, diarrhoea, ulcers in the mouth… Then he developed neurological seizures. Blood tests showed liver failure." Alarm bells rang when more pets were brought in with similar symptoms. "In the last few weeks, we've had over 10 cats come in with identical cases of poisoning," says Simaei. "Observing many of the pets over the last month, one thing is clear. This is a case of oral consumption of poison. Most likely, rat poisons left around by pesticide companies." Ogden's concern as a mother runs even deeper than losing her pet. "This is a family-oriented community with lots of little children. We've noticed pesticide firms leaving little blue pellets all over the place that our dog could easily have licked or that our children could pick up and play with. "As a resident, I should have been notified of the pellets. Borg needn't have died. Borg came to us as a puppy, at the same time my son Finn was born