“Please PLEASE do not delete this email without firstly – reading it; secondly – signing the petitions & thirdly – sending it on to others.
On Tuesday May 22nd 2012 I lost my little flatcoated retriever Sky at just 3 years old. The death of any animal of any age is upsetting but what makes Skys’ death most distressing wasnt because she was mine, it wasnt because she was only 3 it was the manner of her death – CRUEL, INDISCRIMINATE and MALICIOUS.
I had noticed the ‘odd’ symptoms which neither the vets nor I could put a finger on – broken skin, a couple of lesions on her neck, inflammed glands and raised temperature. We’d been to the vets twice in 3 days, antibiotics administered & return appointment booked when matters were taken out of our hands. Within 36 hours of the 2nd appointment it was apparent she was becoming very poorly. An emergency Sunday morning appoinment resulted in her being taken in & put on a drip. Blood test revealed a problem with her kidneys – they were failing fast. I have to give my praise to South Moor Vets @ Kingsbridge who tried everything in their power to save her. Specialist advice suggested a case of poisoning & with the way the body was failing it came down to antifreeze. More treatment was given in the hope of neutralising the antifreeze & kick starting the kidneys but despite all the efforts given to saving her, I had to let her go late in the afternoon. The toxins were building in her body & she was beginning to suffer.
Sky was the lucky one – she had the best care possible and suffered little. Unfortunately others are not so lucky. Generally the first signs are depression, followed by the kidneys failing. When this becomes obvious 80% of the kidneys function is already compromised. This is then followed by blindness, brain damage & heart failure. The end is painful & death is slow. I know, for a fact, that Sky must have ingested the antifreeze AT LEAST 7 days before she died but more likely 10. I believe I now know where this happened AND IT WAS NO ACCIDENT. I generally walk on NT land with little/no vehicular access so an accidental spillage is ruled out. I believe it was a deliberate attempt to destroy wildlife (particularly Peregrine Falcons) by lacing bait with antifreeze by person/s unknown.
Antifreeze has been known to cause deaths in animals for a long time. It is attractive to them & tastes sweet. One veterinary nurse informed me that it is not unusual to find someone has soaked peanuts in antifreeze & then throw down badger setts. Even with this knowledge there is no legislation that requires manufacturers to add any bittering agents/dye to remove this ‘legal killer’ from the open market – and we call ourselves a nation of animal lovers. A dye would have given me an immediate indication that something was wrong & Sky would still be with me. A bittering agent would have perhaps prevented her from eating/drinking whatever it was.
I cannot help Sky BUT I can help others. By the very fact that there are 2 petitions running it seems I’m not the only one to have had a much loved animal suffer.
PLEASE use the links to access the petitions
http://
http://
OR if you are concerned about possible attached viruses then log on to epetitions.direct.gov.uk and search for the two relevant petition numbers.
THIS IS NOT AN URBAN MYTH AS SOME HAVE CLAIMED, IT IS REAL, IT IS HAPPENING BUT WORST OF ALL IT IS CRUEL
Thank you for taking the time to read this. It is going to take 100,000 signatures before the Government will consider it.
Mary Trotter
epetitions.direct.gov.uk
