Monensin Toxicity In Dogs

Charter Veterinary Surgeons have issued this warning:

“MONENSIN TOXICITY IN DOGS

A warning from one of our Vets.

Last weekend we said good bye to Inca, our 3 year old ‘dog of a lifetime’ Labrador (photographed). Out on a local walk on a well trodden footpath (one we’ve walked for 10 years +) she picked up a kexxtone bolus containing monensin. Even though we managed to get it off her within seconds of her picking it up, she started vomiting and seizuring after 20 minutes of ingesting the toxin. After a long 48 hours of intensive treatment and the worst weekend of my life, she lost her battle and ended up passing away.

Please see photo of the boluses below. A kexxtone bolus is administered to a cow to release monensin in order to avoid certain metabolic diseases and to increase milk yield.

The boluses are meant to stay in the cows stomach for the duration of it’s life. Unfortunately some cows regurgitate the boluses so they end up on farmland. This leaves them open to dogs to pick them up.

We have since been to the farmer, who we know, to discuss what happened. We are not blaming the farmer as it was pure bad luck. But we want to prevent it happening to anyone else in the future. The farmer had NO clue that monensin is toxic to dogs, horses, wildlife etc. We have since asked our local farming community and had similar responses.

So here’s my advice:

FARMERS: please be aware of the toxic effects these can have on dogs, horses and wildlife. If using them then PLEASE keep an eye out for regurgitated ones or have warning signs up on footpaths where they might be present. Even if the cows are housed 24/7, the regurgitated boluses can end up being spread in the muck on fields. You also need to be aware of the risks for your own farm dogs so make sure they were well out of their reach.

DOG WALKERS: if walking on footpaths that go through farmland please keep an eye out for these. They’re not very commonly found but the consequences on your beloved pet are not worth the risk. If you see your dog with one then get them to drop it as soon as you can and take them to your vet IMMEDIATELY.

Thanks for taking the time to read this. We are also contacting the drug company to try and get more obvious warnings on the packaging and the things themselves. Although it breaks my heart to have to write this and nothing will ever prepare you for the sudden loss of such a huge part of your life, if we can stop it from happening to any other dogs in the future then it’ll help.”

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