Urgent warning to pet owners as dog falls ill after eating poisonous plant

05 November 2023 , 11:30

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A ragwort warning sign at Merlin Park, in Hucknall (Image: Joseph Raynor/ Nottingham Post)

A number of dogs have fallen seriously ill after they accidentally ate a poisonous plant that residents had previously asked to have removed.

Dog owners in Nottingham are worried after a number of their pets fell ill from eating a poisonous plant. They claim the plant, known as Ragwort, was "mishandled" by the landowner of Merlin Park in Hucknall. Ragwort is a common weed that's harmful to dogs and has always grown in the park.

The plant, which blooms with a yellow flower, gives off a scent that warns animals to stay away, but when it's cut down, the scent goes away while the poison stays. Earlier this month, contractors working for the Land Trust cut the grass and the ragwort but didn't remove the cuttings.

Soon after, dog owners started reporting their pets were getting sick, and many believe the ragwort is to blame. Melanie, a resident of the estate, told NottinghamshireLive: "We haven't taken our dog to the park for weeks now because we worry about him getting poorly. It's frustrating and it makes us angry because we knew what the issues were going to be if this happened and discussed it with the Land Trust.

"They should know how to nurture and look after the land that they're responsible for and they've failed grossly on that. It's heartbreaking for the owners whose dogs are ill. Dogs are part of families, not just pets."

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The Land Trust, a charity that manages public spaces, took over Merlin Park in 2019. In April this year, they hired a new contractor to care for the green space. Residents who pay over £300 each year for park maintenance met with representatives from the Land Trust and the contractor in July to discuss what needed doing on the park.

However, on October 3, gardeners cut the grass and ragwort with a lawnmower, leaving the remains on the field instead of baling them for horse feed as usual. By October 22, reports began to emerge of dogs falling ill. One person asked on a Facebook group: "Has anyone else's dog been poorly in the last week? I know of three dogs, including my own, that have picked up some kind of sickness bug. Just wondering if there's anything on the park with that being a walk all three dogs have in common?

Another person shared: "Mine is now severely poorly and it has triggered IMHA which is life-threatening for him. He is four and went downhill fast. He coughed up a huge amount that nearly killed him. Our vet bill is in excess of £2000 so far."

A third resident added: "Mine wasn't too great last week. I'll be sticking to the streets for a while," and a fourth said: "One of mine had eaten something from the field the other week and then had a seizure in the field."

Residents reached out to the Land Trust, asking for the ragwort remnants to be urgently removed. However, they claim they were told that the work couldn't be done due to bad weather.

Instead, signs were put up in the park asking for dogs to be kept on leads - but with no mention of ragwort or the reason why. Now, the signs have been updated - but it's too little, too late for some. This isn't the first time residents have complained about the maintenance of their local area.

In May, they expressed their frustration over the lack of upkeep in the park despite paying a fee. The same complaints were made in August 2022 and in November of the same year, human waste was found in the park following a sewage leak.

A spokesperson for the Land Trust said: "Land Trust Residential Services would like to assure residents of Merlin Park it takes their concerns about site safety extremely seriously. While we are aware there are concerns about ragwort on Merlin Park, particularly in regard to the safety and wellbeing of residents' pets, we would like to reassure residents that we have been working with our contractor to ensure the removal of the remaining ragwort arisings from the site ASAP.

"Ragwort is a common wildflower and can be found on site at Merlin Park as well as neighbouring fields to the Merlin Park estate. Along with other wild plants, ragwort poses no danger to dogs unless it is ingested, our advice remains to keep dogs on leads as much as possible and supervise them at all times."

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