SAN DIEGO (KGTV) - A family in University Heights is warning their community after their dog, healthy one day, suddenly became deathly sick.
Michelle Thorsen said the family noticed something was wrong with their 7-year-old dog, Pepper, after work on Wednesday.
“She was just limp, laying in her crate, not responsive at all, her tail was flapping, but that’s not like her,” Thorsen said.
When the family took Pepper to the animal hospital, the vet told the family that their dog had ingested some sort of poison, possibly for rodents.
Pepper died at the hospital.
“Just so devastating, just such a sudden loss of somebody that means so much to you, and she’s in perfect health, she should have lived at least 7 more years," Thorsen said, "Nobody should have to go through that, and God forbid it’s a kid."
Thorsen said there are a number of other dogs and small children who live on her block.
The family said they don’t know where their dog came into contact with the poison because the vet told them it could have been in the dog’s system from three days earlier. The family thinks it could have happened on one of their walks around University Heights.
“I mean I’m angry, I know it’s perfectly legal for people to poison whatever, but I don’t think they think about the fact that, I mean, I’ve got two kids next door, that scared me even more than anything else, kids put things in their mouths," Thorsen said.
The family said they hope their pain and heartbreak will warn their neighbors that there is rodent poison around, and also make people think twice about using it.
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife suggests trying to use a non-chemical method to deal with a pest issue.
