Beloved dog Harvey returns home after poisoning ordeal

A poorly Beagle who had suspectedly been poisoned has now returned to his loving home in Warwick.
Harvey the Beagle.Harvey the Beagle.
Harvey the Beagle.

Over the weekend Jo Ciriani and Graham Todd had to take their dog Harvey to the vets after he became ill after going for a walk by the Warwick Racecourse and St Mary’s lands.

The couple believe Harvey became ill after potentially eating rat poison on their regular walk.

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He became lethargic and had a lack of appetite, and then on Sunday morning the couple found blood all over the kitchen floor and Harvey extremely unwell.

Harvey the beagle.Harvey the beagle.
Harvey the beagle.

The beloved pet was rushed to Avonvale vets, where he had a blood transfusion and was treated with Vitamin K and an IV drip.

The couple returned to Warwick Racecourse on Sunday morning to investigate the area and found and an open rat trap next to one of the horse jumps.

They then posted their findings on social media.

When the pair returned later in afternoon the trap had been removed.

Harvey the beagle.Harvey the beagle.
Harvey the beagle.
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Miss Ciriani said: “We want to warn as many people as we can about the traps at Warwick Racecourse – it’s a popular dog walking route and we would hate another animal to go through what Harvey has gone through.

“Whilst dogs are not allowed on the course itself, the trap we found and filmed was open and at the side of the track – right next to where we walk.”

Yesterday Harvey had recovered enough to go home.

Mr Todd said: “We’re so pleased to have Harvey home. He’s had a very traumatic weekend but is well on the way to recovery. He’s tired and has a few shaved patches of hair but he’s wearing his green plaster like a badge of honour.

“We’d like to extend our eternal gratitude to the amazing vets and staff at the Avonvale Veterinary Centre in Warwick who took Harvey in on Sunday morning at a minutes notice and acted so quickly to save him.

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“We’re also very grateful to Pet Blood Bank who supply blood to the centre and who we believe supplied the blood for his transfusion which he so badly needed.

“We’re also overwhelmed at the sheer amount of support and help from the community and on social media. The story around Harvey has reached well over 50,000 people online and we’ve received messages from as far away as India.

“Harvey has even been offered free dinner at a pet café and my nationwide networking community want him to give a talk about his ordeal, we are just not sure how that would work out!”

Andre Klein, Warwick Racecourse general manager, said: “In response to the comments raised over the weekend on social media, we thought it necessary to provide a statement clarifying the situation regarding baited traps on the racecourse.

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“Firstly, on a personal level we are very sad to hear the news regarding the poor health of a dog due to the possible consumption of poison at our race track.

“As dog lovers and owners and regular users of St Marys Land, we are naturally concerned and hope the dog makes a speedy and full recovery.

“There is only one baited trap maintained on the race track itself. This is on the fence near the Sainsburys corner and is the one identified in the video. This box is laid, secured by our contractor, Conquer. Upon inspection by our contractors, it is apparent that the box has unfortunately been tampered with.

“The bait trap has been placed in this location as we have an on-going issue with rats chewing through ropes that secure important components of the fence.

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“The amount of poison used, we have been informed is not enough to kill a dog, but would be enough to make it ill.

The trap has since been removed as a precautionary measure.

“We would like to remind all St Mary’s Land visitors that the racetrack itself is not to be accessed other than on the public footpaths that traverse it. It is an area under constant management for the purposes of racing and therefore is not necessarily a particularly safe environment.

“We appreciate that it is hard to control dogs who run on to the track but it would be appreciated if everyone could make an effort to keep their dogs exclusively on the parkland and the track that runs the inner circumference of the course.”