Dog owner warns of grit danger after pup takes seriously ill

A dog owner has urged others to beware of grit after her pet was left unable to walk due suspected rock salt poisoning.

Hay ley Fitch et, a 25-year-old from Tayport, believes Milo, her beloved lab-collie cross, became sick after licking up too much grit.

She said: “Milo started to have really bad diarrhoea and he wasn’t his normal self.

“He was quite lethargic and because of his breed he’s usually quite full of energy.

“I monitored him for a while to make sure he was still drinking but then he started to be sick as well, only once but a worrying sign for dogs and puppies.”

The one-year-old pup’s condition quickly became worse.

Hayley said: “Within 24 hours of this, he really started to deteriorate, so much so that he had no strength to lift himself up, his back legs completely gave up on him.

“He still had a bad tummy at this point and when he needed to go out to the garden for the toilet, I had to lift his back legs up and make sure he was stable.

“This went on from Tuesday into Wednesday and I hadn’t slept at all.

“I had to give him water through a syringe and he wasn’t interested in food at all.

“He is my first dog so I was extremely worried about him, he’s only one. When he started to deteriorate, I thought I’d lost him, it was that bad.”

However, Milo soon started to gain more strength and regained the use of his legs.

Scottish SPCA chief superintendent Mike Flynn warned that grit can irritate animals’ paws and may upset their digestive system.

In high doses, the rock salt found in grit can be toxic to dogs and cats.

One-year-old Milo.