Dog saved from the brink of death after eating dozens of slug pellets
Milo in critical condition for three days before regaining strength
A dog called Milo was saved from the brink of death by vets – after he ate 100 highly poisonous slug pellets.
Five-year-old Milo wolfed down the stash of pellets thinking they were a tasty treat when in fact just a few can be deadly.
Milo’s owner Zoe Earle realised to her horror what had happened when she gave Milo his evening meal and he began vomiting up the pellets.
Minutes later the crossbreed began shaking uncontrollably as the toxic chemicals in the pellets poisoned his bloodstream.
By the time frantic Zoe, from Southampton, had got Milo to Vets Now’s pet emergency clinic in the city his hind legs had totally given way.
Our vets and vet nurses began attempts to stabilise him – which involved giving him fluids and drugs to control the seizures and help him fight off the effects of the toxins.
But panting Milo had eaten so many of the pellets – which Zoe had put in a garden pot while she cleared out her garage – that his prospects were bleak.
Only the intensive level of care and dedication of the staff at both Vets Now, and Milo’s daytime vets at PDSA, ensured that he pulled through.
Children’s entertainer Zoe, 40, said: “It was horrendous seeing poor Milo like that. The vet nurse, Leigh, was very kind and said she’d do everything she could to save Milo.
“But we were warned by the vet that his condition was so serious we must be prepared for putting him to sleep.”
It was 7pm when Milo was admitted to our clinic, which provides out-of-hours emergency care for pets in the area. But his condition failed to improve despite receiving intensive one-to-one care for the entire night.
The next morning Milo was transferred to the PDSA pet hospital in Southampton, where he is registered, for further treatment before returning to Vets Now in the evening for more overnight care.
Zoe said: “It was heartbreaking. But after a long conversation, we decided to keep going with the treatment.”
By 7am the following day Milo still wasn’t any better and the PDSA vet collected him again.
Fearing they’d reached the end of the road, Zoe went to the hospital to say her goodbyes to Milo accompanied by son Dillon, 14, and daughter Briony, 20.
But to the family’s astonishment, smiling staff said that Milo had taken a turn for the better – and was pulling through.
Zoe said: “We went in to see him and I don’t know who was more pleased – him to see us or us to see him. He was still pretty drowsy but we were able to take him home later in the afternoon and I just felt a huge sense of relief.
“By the next morning, he was pretty much back to normal.
“I really can’t imagine life without Milo and I’m so hugely, hugely grateful to everyone at Vets Now and the PDSA. They saved his life. It’s as simple as that.”
A few days later Zoe returned to the Vets Now clinic in Southampton with Milo who, by then, was back to his old self.
Vet nurse Leigh said: “It was very emotional seeing Milo again. Much of the time he’d spent with us he’d been unconscious.
“So to see him back on his feet brought a tear to my eye. Slug pellets are incredibly dangerous for dogs. Just eating one or two can be fatal in some cases.
“So for Milo to pull through after eating as many as he did really is a miracle. He’s a very lucky dog indeed.”
Zoe says she’s been wracked by guilt about Milo’s brush with death.
She said: “It was my fault he got the pellets. I was clearing out the garage and all the pellets fell out of a cupboard. So I swept them up and put them in a pot, thinking I’d put them away again once I’d finished tidying.
“I went off to rubbish tip and forgot about the pellets – and at some point that afternoon Milo has found the pot in the garden and eaten every single one.
“There were two large handfuls of them – there must have been at least 100 – and he ate them all.
“In the past, he’s managed to eat through a box of chocolates and also a whole Easter egg, but that was nothing like this.”
The pet emergency clinic in Southampton – where Milo received treatment – is one of a nationwide network of Vets Now clinics and hospitals that are open through the night, seven-days-a-week, and day and night on weekends and bank holidays, to treat any pet emergencies that may occur.
All of Vets Now’s out-of-hours clinics and 24/7 hospitals have a vet and vet nurse on site at all times.
Dog saved from the brink of death after eating dozens of slug pellets
Five-year-old crossbreed Milo was saved from the brink of death at Vets Now's Southampton clinic after wolfing down 100 toxic slug pellets.
