Beware your neighbours

Dear editor:
I was playing fetch in my backyard with my two labs last Wednesday when I noticed my yellow lab stop to eat something a few feet off my property (against my neighbour’s garage).
I called her, and she didn’t listen, so I ran over to get her. When I got there, I inspected what she had been eating and momentarily was in denial. It was an aluminum pie plate with neatly-cut fillets of fish, covered in a fluorescent green liquid.
Antifreeze? But that can kill . . . can’t it?
The active ingredient in antifreeze is ethylene glycol and most brands of commercial antifreeze contain 95 percent. It only takes two ounces of ethylene glycol to be fatal in a medium-sized dog and less than an ounce for a cat.
Both cats and dogs are attracted to the sweet smell and taste of ethylene glycol.
The symptoms of antifreeze poisoning include excessive thirst and urination, lack of co-ordination, weakness, nausea, tremors, vomiting, rapid breathing and heart rate, convulsions, diarrhea, and paralysis.
The animal may appear listless and depressed but these symptoms are only the first stage and, after a few hours, the animal may appear to recover.
Stage two begins when the liver starts to metabolize the ethylene glycol and turn it into a crystalline acid, which attacks the kidneys. Within 12-36 hours of ingestion, the animal’s kidneys will stop functioning and he/she will slip into a coma.
This is why it is critical to get your pet to the veterinarian within the first eight hours of ingesting antifreeze. The vet can induce vomiting and give your pet activated charcoal, but administering an ethylene glycol antidote is necessary to minimize damage to the kidneys.
In my experience, the majority of the Fort Frances community and surrounding area love their pets and treat them as part of their family. To have my gentle, loving animal poisoned by an intentional act, in my own backyard, is almost beyond my comprehension.
I contacted the local police and they advised me that there recently was an amendment made to the Criminal Code (Section 446) that attaches criminal liability to anyone causing “unnecessary pain, suffering, or injury to an animal.”
The incident occurred at noon on Wednesday, April 23 near the northwest corner where Church Street meets Crowe Avenue. If you have any information, please contact Crime Stoppers anonymously or the local OPP.
The most troubling part of this experience for me is learning that this type of behaviour is a known, dare I say “common,” practice in town.
I consider myself extremely lucky that my pet survived, but the emotional distress it has caused me greatly exceeds the vet bills which were nearly $1,000.
As a community, I believe we should work together to ensure cruelty to animals is not tolerated in order to protect those creatures who don’t have a voice of their own.
(Signed),
Timea Fleury
Fort Frances, Ont.