76-year-old pensioner’s dog poisoned to death
The vet confirmed that the dogs had been poisoned and that he had encountered many cases where people had brought their dogs to him after visiting the monuments
76-year-old Darby Wilson is devastated after his best friend Teddy, a Wire-Haired Terrier, was poisoned to death on Sunday afternoon.
Mr Wilson, together with friends, took a drive to look at the monuments situated on the outskirts of Ladysmith. He decided to take Teddy with him, and one of his friends decided to also take his dog.
When they reached the monuments, they allowed the dogs to wander around while they enjoyed the scenery.
One of Mr Wilson’s friends, Stef Bedser, noticed that his dog was not looking well. The dog then started choking. Acting on instinct, Mr Bedser put his finger down the dog’s throat to dislodge whatever was stuck there. He dug out a black disc-like object and noticed that the dog’s tongue had turned purple. Even when the black matter had been removed, the dog continued choking. They immediately phoned the vet in Estcourt to make an appointment.
They first dropped Mr Wilson and his dog off at home in Ladysmith, and then rushed to the vet in Estcourt. A while after they had left, Mr Wilson noticed that his dog was also behaving strangely. The dog started vomiting and Mr Wilson immediately gave it milk to drink. That did not help, and the dog then started having convulsions.
At 6.30pm, poor Teddy died due to poisoning. The vet confirmed to Mr Bedser that the dogs had been poisoned and that he had encountered many cases where people had brought their dogs to him after visiting the monuments.
“We are devastated! How could people be so cruel as to leave poison where there are animals and small children?” said Mr Wilson. He added that there are no signs anywhere stating that animals are not allowed.
