Vet says meat-wrapped rat poison left outside her Saskatoon clinic

A Saskatoon vet is asking pet owners to stay vigilant after somebody allegedly tried to poison her dog.

Dr. Teresa Cook owns Frontier Veterinary Services, just off Circle Drive and Idylwyld. While on vacation this week, Cook left her epileptic Bullmastiff Doris in the care of the clinic’s nurses.

While being walked in the alleyway behind the clinic Wednesday, Doris spotted a piece of meat about 30 ms away from the building, and gobbled it up.

“The nurse that was walking her noticed right away and tried to get it out of her mouth,” Cook said. “And while she was pulling … she noticed there was some blue-tinged crumbles in it.”

Fearing it was rat poison, the nurse immediatley induced vomiting. More of the blue crumbles were found in the vomit.

The substance is still being tested, but Cook is certain it’s rat poison.

“It’s very scary actually, to think someone possibly did that deliberately to try to get a dog to eat it,” she said.

Luckily, Cook said Doris seems to be in good spirits, and is unfazed by the whole ordeal.

“We’re very lucky and fortunate that we recognised what was going on immediately, but a lot of pet owners might not necessarily have recognised that that could have been rat poison,” she said.

Since posting the story to Facebook, Cook said many people have shared their own stories about other poisonings and attempted poisonings in the city.

The spot were Doris found the suspicious meat is also nearby Animal Crackers Personalized Pet Care. Security cameras have now been installed outside Frontier Veternary Services to monitor suspicious activity.