07/18/2026
When you take your puppies in to a new environment, the first thing you do is look for risks. When I moved into my new place a couple weeks ago, we walked the yard making sure the fence was secure. No holes, no places where it was loose, no plants that shouldn't be there. All the things, so we thought.
Just a couple days after moving in, the Bully puppies were enjoying romping around the yard for a bit. Shortly after coming back in, I heard one yelping in a horrible way. I ran to the puppy room to find my big blue ticked boy having an episode that looked like maybe he had had a seizure. I grabbed him out, not sure what had happened. A few minutes later, he vomited. Off to the vet we went for an emergency visit.
We did all the things, blood work, labs etc. While at the vet he had another seizure. Could be anything, labs were not clear about what was happening. We started him on a couple meds to try to cover everything. That night at home, he had another small episode.
By the next morning, he seemed to be slightly improving. I carried him out to potty and happened to notice a small chewed up plastic container in the yard. On inspection, discovered it was Ant Bait. I rushed in and called my vet and sent pics.
Sure enough, his symptoms and labs matched.
A few days later, the seizures started again. This time worse with more frequency. Rushed to the vet again, for the labs to show the worst case scenario was happening. His kidneys and liver had been affected by the toxins.
We did the only thing we could, stopped his suffering.
I wish this could be a tale of caution for other puppy owners, but you can't be proactive with things you can't see. Like a package of poison stuck in the ground.
Being a breeder is supposed to be about the miracle of life and playing with puppies. In reality, it often feels like death by a million tiny cuts to the heart. We don't often talk about the losses along the journey. They hurt too much. This one stings to the core.
