At this point, additional information provided by his owners helped us to quickly diagnose Harley's illness. Like so many of us in the New Orleans area, they had been having problems with occasional rodents in their yard. Out of frustration, they baited their yard with rat poison, but only in those areas of the yard into which they were sure Harley would not (or could not) venture. Unfortunately, Harley's curiosity was underestimated. He had found and ingested the rat poison and was now suffering the consequences.

Anticoagulant rodenticides work by acting as Vitamin K "antagonists". Vitamin K is an essential component of the clotting cascade, which encompasses a series of events necessary for effective clot formation and therefore, prevention of hemorrhage. With ingestion of this poison, the clotting cascade is disrupted and the end result, over time, is spontaneous hemorrhage.

Animals that have ingested rat poison may present to a veterinarian with any of a number of different symptoms. Some of the more common include: 1) epitasis (nose bleeds) 2) lethargy 3) bloody stool 4) respiratory difficulty 5) bruising (any site, including gums) 6) blood in the urine or brown urine, and 7) pale mucous membranes. Based on the animal's clinical appearance and the presence of appropriate clinical signs, blood work can be run to confirm the diagnosis. Aggressive treatment is necessary for any animal that is suspected of having ingested rat poison. The foundation of therapy is the administration of Vitamin K. Depending on the patient's clinical status, vitamin injections are often required at the onset of treatment. (Oral administration of Vitamin K capsules must be maintained for anywhere from two to six weeks after poisoning!) from two to six weeks after poisoning!) Many pets will often initially require a blood transfusion

to replace the clotting factors depleted by the poison. Fortunately, Metairie Small Animal Hospital employs both feline and canine full-time blood donors for cases such as this. Radiographs are utilized to evaluate the degree of lung involvement in those animals that have experienced thoracic hemorrhage. And in some pets, the degree of hemorrhage is so severe that thoracocentesis must be performed to alleviate hemothorax. This involves inserting a needle into the chest cavity to drain excessive blood, thus allowing for more comfortable breathing. In cases of internal hemorrhage, antibiotics are always utilized to prevent potential secondary infections.

Because rat poisons have been continually redesigned to be more and more effective, it has become proportionately more difficult to treat toxicity with these agents. As mentioned previously, Vitamin K supplementation must be administered for several weeks. And, because each of the different poisons varies in terms of its duration of action, withdrawal of Vitamin K supplementation must be carefully monitored. It is absolutely critical to check the patient's clotting ability within two to four days of discontinuation of therapy to assure clotting ability is once again adequate.

And now, back to Harley… Although his poisoning was severe enough to require a blood transfusion and a few days of intensive hospitalization, his condition improved rapidly and he is now back at home reclaiming his territory. At last report, all the neighborhood squirrels were once again avoiding his yard (at least while he was outside), and Harley was back at the helm on his porch, barking at any bird that dare enter his domain. The true question, however, is "Did Harley learn his lesson?" And, undoubtedly the answer to this is an overwhelming "No!" Dogs will be dogs, and as far as Harley is concerned, he is the king of them all. Let the birds beware