A heartbroken dog owner has told how her pet pooch died within hours of eating something it picked up from an Ayrshire footpath.
French Bulldog, Holden, was out walking near Doonfoot in Ayr on Tuesday, March 7, when he snapped up an unknown substance from the road.
Within moments, Holden, seven, struggled to stand up while his eyes “rolled back in his head”.
Desperate owner Leanne Helm, 31, rushed Holden to the vets within 15 minutes.
But Holden tragically died - despite experts battling to save his life.
Leanne said: “We are absolutely devastated. The whole thing happened so fast.
“Whatever it was, it acted in Holden’s system within minutes and even though we got him to the vets quickly, they just looked at him and said straight away that he was in a bad way.
“After they ran tests we were told it didn’t look like a normal poisoning due to how fast it happened and the severity of it. Their words were that they thought it was ‘something really sinister.’
“His heart-rate was high, but his liver function was fine. The vets said it was his brain it went for. They think it might have been drugs that he had eaten.
“They treated him with Naloxone, which is used to reverse opioid effects in humans, but that didn’t work.
“They told us to prepare for the worst and they worked on him for three hours. They tried their best but eventually, they had to put him to sleep.”
Leanne and partner Chris Hume have now been left devastated by the loss of their pet.
Estate agent Leanne added: “We are truly heartbroken. I always wanted a French Bulldog and Holden was just the best dog you could ever have.
“He was just so laid back, so stubborn - but brilliant. He was such a character.
“We have another two-year-old French Bulldog called Ozzy and he’s lost without his big brother. He keeps looking everywhere for him.
“Holden was a really healthy boy.
“We just want people to be aware that this happened and to take extra care when walking your dogs.
“I would absolutely hate for anyone else to go through this.”
Police were unable to investigate as there was no evidence of foul play.
South Ayrshire Council declined to comment.
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