Cyprus-Forum.com

[twinkle]

The Nicosia Dog Shelter sell an emergency pack of injections for poison and snake bites (they used to anyway), which may give you that extra 10-20 mins you need to get to the vet.

Lanate I believe is a white powder, but they mix it into food or pieces of meat.

The Government have been so slack in getting rid of this stuff. I'd like to shove it down their throats and the people that sell it. God bless George Lanitis, the people's advocate on banning poisons.

[GorillaGal]

It will be 2 weeks on wednesday since our beloved prize dog ZICCO was poisoned in the main carpark in chlorika village by evil cypriot bastards,having left all the windows a jar and just given him water we went to the internet cafe for 30minutes and on our return our beautiful dog was dead,later confirmed as poisoning,recently there have been another 3 cases of dogs poisoned in Chlorika village centre,in disgust i have now moved from that shitehole of a village,if anyone has info or thinks they might know whos responsible for killing inocent dogs in cars in chlorika please let me know as i will personaly give the bastards the same fate they gave my dog !!!!!!!

highlander, i am so sorry to hear of your loss. it is so sad to lose a "fur baby" no matter what the circustances, but to think a human is responsable for this is horrible. and they call us the intelligent species?

[cyprusgrump]

Does anyone know what these poison baits look like? I know that the chemical used is often an agrochemical but how do they get the dog to swallow it?

I live in constant fear of my dog finding a bait because she is sterilised, therefore greedy and on a vet prescribed diet. She is constantly picking up edible garbage even on a leash.

If you want to save a dog that has taken poison you have to have atropine injections with you all the time and know how to administer them within seconds of the event. Something not possible for most people in the majority of situations. At least if we know what to look for it might save some dogs.

I believe that Lanate is often applied to raw liver…

[devil]

Lannate (R), not Lanate, is an important pesticide. Without it, our agriculture would be very much poorer. I doubt whether it could be banned as it can be used against pests that are resistant to other pesticides, such as the Mediterranean fruit fly which could render our orange crops useless at the drop of a hat. I have some (kept in a locked cupboard) and I can assure you that the warnings on the packaging are horrendously scary. For example, the equipment one should wear when handling it are:

Long-sleeved shirt and long pants
Coveralls
Chemical-resistant gloves
Shoes plus socks
Protective eyewear
Chemical-resistant apron
Dust/mist respirator (outdoor)
Organic vapors respirator (indoor)

Emergency Overview
DANGER! POISON! CONTAINS METHANOL. FATAL IF SWALLOWED.
MAY CAUSE BLINDNESS IF SWALLOWED. MAY BE FATAL IF INHALED
OR ABSORBED THROUGH EYES. CAUSES IRREVERSIBLE EYE DAMAGE.
Do not get in eyes, on skin, or on clothing. Do not breathe
vapors or spray mist.
WARNING SYMPTOMS
Methomyl poisoning produces effects associated with
anticholinesterase activity which may include weakness,
blurred vision, headache, nausea, abdominal cramps,
discomfort in the chest, constriction of pupils, sweating,
slow pulse, muscle tremors. If warning symptoms appear,
refer to First Aid section on front panel of DuPont LANNATE
LV label and seek medical attention at once.
# Potential Health Effects
Based on animal and human data, overexposure may produce
reversible cholinesterase inhibition.
Based on animal data, eye contact with Lannate LV may cause severe
eye irritation with discomfort, tearing, or blurring of vision.
Eye contact may result in systemic toxicity. Prolonged contact
may cause eye corrosion or ulceration.
Based on animal data, skin contact with Lannate LV may cause
irritation with itching, burning, redness, swelling or rash.
Effects that may occur due to the components include the following:
Skin, eye, inhalation or ingestion exposure to Methomyl may cause
acute cholinesterase depression (characterized by nonspecific
discomfort, such as nausea, headache, weakness, cramps, excessive
sweating, salivation and tearing, constricted pupils, blurred
vision, muscle twitching, and confusion) and hematologic effects.
Higher exposures may lead to loss of consciousness; or convulsions
and severe respiratory depression.
Inhalation, ingestion or skin contact with Methyl Alcohol may
cause temporary mild depression of the central nervous system with
dizziness, confusion, incoordination or drowsiness followed by an
asymptomatic period usually ranging from 12 to 24 hours.
Metabolic acidosis develops followed by ocular toxicity (visual
disturbance including blindness). Other effects include
non-specific effects such as headache, nausea and weakness. Gross
overexposure may cause pathological changes in the liver and
kidneys; nerve damage with numbness, weakness or muscle rigidity;
tremors; convulsions; and fatality.

I have seen farmers using it without any protection

It cannot be banned but its use could be strictly controlled and markers can be added to each batch allowing traceability in the event of misuse.

[orokliniservices]

Highlander, I am very very sorry to hear about your loss. I don't know what i'd do if that happened to mine.. i'd be completely heartbroken. I've been told of a few recent cases in Oroklini Village lately.. so just a warning to dog owners in my area, beware.. it's out there again.. It's sad really, who would do this to such a lovely animal.

[Eliko]

THE HIGHLANDER, such a shame to read about the terrible incident which resulted in the death of your dog, my sympathies are with you and I can understand your anger.

However, since I am unable to imagine that anyone could be sick enough to administer poison to the poor animal (in the circumstances you have described), I am prompted to enquire of you whether or not you received a professional opinion on the death of your pet.

If it was left in your vehicle, (which you say it was) and the temperature was a little severe, is it not possible that 'Heat Exhaustion' was the cause of it's demise?.

Under such circumstances, as above, it is possible for a dog, particularly thoroughbred, to fall victim to the effects of heat even though there may have been (what you considered to be) adequate ventilation.

Fatalities in the conditions you have described, have been known to occur within 15-20 minutes.

I am not suggesting that you were in any way negligent, perhaps by drawing your attention to these facts, other dog owners among the forum members may take note and learn from your unfortunate experience.

My sympathy and best wishes to you in any case mate.

As a follow up to the above, does anyone know how quickly this poison (mentioned by other members) takes effect?, it seems a bit incredible that such a potent substance is apparently freely available.

Taking into account the time factor AND the window positions (in the case of this particular incident), I do wonder if it is worth considering the alternative possibilities for the dog's death.

Does anyone have any expert knowledge on the time factor?, we all know of how quickly a lethal injection works, I just cannot see how the simple act of offering a dog a piece of poisoned meat could be so effective.

It would be a great pity to condemn the entire Cypriot race as 'Bastards', when there may be a simple explanation, don't you agree?.

My sympathy is still very much with THE HIGHLANDER on account of his sad loss.

[webbo]

It will be 2 weeks on wednesday since our beloved prize dog ZICCO was poisoned in the main carpark in chlorika village by evil cypriot bastards,having left all the windows a jar and just given him water we went to the internet cafe for 30minutes and on our return our beautiful dog was dead,later confirmed as poisoning,recently there have been another 3 cases of dogs poisoned in Chlorika village centre,in disgust i have now moved from that shitehole of a village,if anyone has info or thinks they might know whos responsible for killing inocent dogs in cars in chlorika please let me know as i will personaly give the bastards the same fate they gave my dog !!!!!!!

Very sorry to hear you sad news, Highlander. Such a beautiful dog gone to doggie heaven I have heard many similar horror stories during my time in Cyprus yet I still cannot understand why anyone wants to hurt such innocent creatures, yet alone be so cowardice as to carry out such a heinous crime. I hope they are caught - preferably by dog lovers and given the same treatment.
Our dog in let out into the garden and I am always checking on her just in case!!! She is so friendly that we have to be careful.

Hope you come to terms with your loss

Bubbles

[dinos]

THE HIGHLANDER, such a shame to read about the terrible incident which resulted in the death of your dog, my sympathies are with you and I can understand your anger.

However, since I am unable to imagine that anyone could be sick enough to administer poison to the poor animal (in the circumstances you have described), I am prompted to enquire of you whether or not you received a professional opinion on the death of your pet.

If it was left in your vehicle, (which you say it was) and the temperature was a little severe, is it not possible that 'Heat Exhaustion' was the cause of it's demise?.

Under such circumstances, as above, it is possible for a dog, particularly thoroughbred, to fall victim to the effects of heat even though there may have been (what you considered to be) adequate ventilation.

Fatalities in the conditions you have described, have been known to occur within 15-20 minutes.

I am not suggesting that you were in any way negligent, perhaps by drawing your attention to these facts, other dog owners among the forum members may take note and learn from your unfortunate experience.

My sympathy and best wishes to you in any case mate.

As a follow up to the above, does anyone know how quickly this poison (mentioned by other members) takes effect?, it seems a bit incredible that such a potent substance is apparently freely available.

Taking into account the time factor AND the window positions (in the case of this particular incident), I do wonder if it is worth considering the alternative possibilities for the dog's death.

Does anyone have any expert knowledge on the time factor?, we all know of how quickly a lethal injection works, I just cannot see how the simple act of offering a dog a piece of poisoned meat could be so effective.

It would be a great pity to condemn the entire Cypriot race as 'Bastards', when there may be a simple explanation, don't you agree?.

My sympathy is still very much with THE HIGHLANDER on account of his sad loss.

Hi Eliko,

I've asked here if Lannate is readily available for purchase in Cyprus and was told that it is. The basic function of Lannate is that of a cholinesterase inhibitor. Cholinesterase is an enzyme that catalyzes the hydrolysis of the neurotransmitter acetylcholine into choline and acetic acid, a reaction necessary to allow a cholinergic neuron to return to its resting state after activation. It basically attacks the central nervous system. (I lost the link - sorry!)

Because respiratory failure can occur due to restriction of small bronchi, a time to death can be difficult to generalize and would be subject to the size of the victim and how much poison was ingested. But even with skin contamination, symptoms can go quickly from mild to severe through continued absorption even though the area is washed. Symptoms can mirror those of the flu, so people may, in fact, be getting poisoned but think they just have a headache, nausea, etc. http://extoxnet.orst.edu/tibs/cholines.htm

I agree with Devil in that the stuff should be regulated. Nobody should be allowed to buy or sell it without licensing by the government, and there should be periodic inspections as to how it is stored and deployed. Strong monetary penalties should be levied against infractions. The lack of regulation of this pesticide is like giving people rope to hang themselves with.

Highlander's comments regarding Cypriots probably come more from anger than anything else. He's a pretty fair guy - I think he intended those remarks strictly for the people that poisoned his dog and it just came out wrong.

Hope you're well...

[devil]

As a follow up to the above, does anyone know how quickly this poison (mentioned by other members) takes effect?, it seems a bit incredible that such a potent substance is apparently freely available.

Lannate takes typically about 30 minutes from administration to death but this can vary enormously with the ratio of the weight ingested:body weight of the animal. A big, heavy dog needs to absorb several grams for a fatal outcome, while a small cat will be killed with 100 mg. The LD50 is 25-40 mg/kg for rats, so that would translate to 1 g minimum for a 25 kg dog for a 50% chance of a fatal outcome within 24 hours, assuming that dogs and rats metabolise the stuff in a similar way (not necessarily the case, but probably near enough). I would say 5 g of pure methomyl would be necessary to be sure of killing a dog (the commercial Lannate is about 30% methomyl). You would therefore require about a soupspoonful.

The symptoms start with foaming at the mouth, writhing, going into convulsions and coma. It would seem doubtful that Zicco was poisoned with Lannate. Even if the poison was administered immediately after he left the car, there is every chance he would have been alive (but convulsing) 30 minutes later, if he were otherwise in good health, especially if he had taken water immediately beforehand. Also, there was no report of the vast amount of foam which would have covered where the dog was in the car. I would favour some other hypothesis and I would not exclude the possibility of heat stroke. A dog can die in 15 minutes in a hot car, even with windows open (Google 'heat stroke dog'). Even if I'm absenting myself for only a couple of minutes, I leave the aircon running in summer if the dog is inside.

[Eliko]

dinos and devil, thank you both for your input in response to my own.

The thought did cross my mind that there would have been evidence of distress had the poor dog been poisoned, which is why I was interested in THE HIGHLANDER's account of the incident and did enquire if he had received a professional opinion on it.

Without such information, poisoning becomes a moot point and allows us to consider alternative possibilities.

I personally, (in the absence of evidence to the contrary) favour the idea of 'Heat Exhaustion' being the culprit for various reasons, I imagine you too (devil) have assumed the same.

THE HIGHLANDER has not responded to my first comments, if he HAS sought and obtained confirmation of poisoning, we must of course accept that fact, I was a little surprised that such an outcome (by the administration of poison) could have occured so speedily, I DO know that the alternative (H.E), can produce such results.

Much sympathy is due to THE HIGHLANDER whatever the cause.