A dog owner is warning other owners to be vigilant after her pet became seriously ill after walking in Weston-super-Mare. Karen Hayes’s labrador Dennis lost six kilos in weight after being continually sick following a walk on the fields at Haywood Village.
The two-year-old went into the rhynes and large puddles of water during the outing. Once home, he started to become unwell, vomiting and unable to keep any of his food down. After continuing to be sick he started with diarrhoea and was lethargic and not his normal playful self, reports Somerset Live.
Karen took Dennis to the vet who put him on digestive support medication and continued to monitor him. However his condition continued to worsen, with Dennis seeing the vet three times in one week.
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He has since been put on further medication to treat parasites found in dirty water and samples of his faeces have been sent off for testing. The Environment Agency has confirmed that experts have identified the source of the pollution and an investigation is underway.
It is understood the water had become polluted due to slurry being sprayed on nearby fields running into the water. A three-kilometre stretch of the river between Banwell and Worle was affected.
Karen said: “Dennis is normally an energetic and lively dog so we quickly knew something was wrong. At one point he was so ill we thought we were going to lose him.
"He was just lying there curled up in a ball. I slept downstairs with him at night to keep a close eye on him. He is now on tablets morning and evening and special sachets twice a day.
“Thankfully, two weeks later, he is a little brighter and has stopped being sick and has started eating again. We are hoping he has turned a corner.
"We are still waiting for the results of the tests to come back to find out exactly what was wrong with him.” Luckily Dennis is insured, but Karen says the bill for his treatment has already reached nearly £500.
Karen, 53, a cleaner is now warning people to be extra vigilant when out walking their dogs in Haywood Village.
She said; "I just want people to be vigilant when walking down there and after what happened to Dennis, not let their dogs get anywhere near the water," she said.
"The water is stagnant down there and stinks. I would like to see its quality checked to stop this from happening again.
“Dennis is a young dog, but if an older dog was in the same situation, they may not have made it. Luckily he is insured, but not every dog is.
"This could have ended up costing another dog owner an awful lot of money.” Karen's warning comes at the same time as dozens of fish died after a pollution incident in the River Banwell at Wick St Lawrence last month.
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