Possible Chemical Poisoning of Pet at Rohr Park

They went to the park on Friday, January 9th to exercise their animals. It was a beautiful day and one to be enjoyed.

They immediately noticed that the grass around the round pen and arena was yellow and dying. Though we had been assured by the City Workers that they would stay well away from those areas, they apparently had not. Or maybe the chemicals traveled?

An article titled "Park Visitors Beware: Please, Please, Don't Eat the Daisies . . ." spoke about all the chemicals being used at Rohr Park. This was a rather large concern for all the park users who noticed a strong odor when entering the park.

The peculiar thing about the early spraying the morning of the Mayor's Press Conference was that the City Employees don't maintain the horse area. They admitted as much. The weed pulling was left up to the horse riders using the arena and round pen. Never had there been the spraying of pesticides, at least not in that area of the park.

I received an email from a Common Sense reader reporting their dog getting ill from the park:

"My dog is so sick. I think that she was exposed to those glyphosates they sprayed at the arena. I tried to have her not walk on any grass but perhaps they sprayed the dirt next to the round pen as well. She was fine yesterday at the arena but late last night she began acting very lethargic and sick. This morning the same thing."

The exposure took place on Friday, January 9th, in the late afternoon. That's almost four full days after they sprayed in the early morning of Tuesday, January 6th.

By Saturday morning, the dog was laying around and not acting herself. She refused breakfast. Vets were contacted but not much could be done but hydrate her. Her body was shaking and her paws were cold. She just wasn't herself.

The husband returning home at the end of the day noticed the sunken eyes and thought the pup would surely perish.

With a lot of TLC, water by syringe and some natural remedies, the doted-on dog had a slight change for the better. She managed to eat breakfast on Sunday morning and is steadily improving.

Please keep an eye on your dogs and horses when at the park. Don't let either nibble on the grass. It might be advisable to wash your pup's paws when returning home in case any residue remains.

Be aware of this situation and please keep your animals safe.

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