Does Your Dog Smell a Rat?
A Somerville dog owner was walking her dog on Warren Street in Union Square last week when her dog discovered a dead rat. The owner is certain that her dog only sniffed the rat but did not ingest the carcass. After continuing on their walk a short way, however, her dog began to vomit profusely. She took her dog to Banfield, the pet hospital in Everett, the following day, and the dog was diagnosed with a heart murmur and liver damage.
Banfield has not returned my calls, but I had the opportunity to ask Strummer's vet about rodentcides. Dr. Adam Parker, of Porter Square Veterinarian, explained that while a rat could, theoretically, eat any type of poison, there are two main types of rodenticides. "The most common by far is an anticoagulant that would cause fatal internal (or external) bleeding. There is a less common type that would cause neurologic signs such as seizures." "Any poison exposure from a dead rat," however, "would be through ingestion of its remains and not exposure to any kind of gases produced."
It is common practice during construction projects to use toxic bait to mitigate the public health risks of displacing rats by disturbing their homes. The City of Somerville takes care to bait for rats in such a way that people and pets are not directly exposed to the poison. With several major construction projects underway in the city, however, pet owners should be careful to prevent their pets from ingesting the remains of dead rats. If you do find the remains of a dead rat on the street or sidewalk or in a park or other public way, please call 311 (617-666-3311 from a mobile phone) to report it so that the Department of Public Works may dispose of it safely.