Officials are warning about a harmless looking but deadly plant after a dog recently died eating one. The Collie-Labrador mix was at the beach in the United Kingdom when they ate the plant.
According to Daily Mail, it's called hemlock water dropwort but sometimes nicknamed dead man's fingers. Sadly, the dog ended up eating the plant while out on a stroll with her dog sitter. The animal immediately began spasming and ended up dying in the car. He owner Kirsten Young was distraught by her passing.
She called a family friend, who recounted what happened. She said, "Kirsten had just flown to Portugal where she works. She had a dog sitter take Lula down to Church Beach in Lyme Regis. I got a call from Kirsten, she said the dog sitter had rung in panic and Lula was having fits and spasms. She had been walking on the beach and eaten something which turned out to be hemlock water dropwart's root. It is really dangerous, the time between eating that plant and her being affected was only 15 minutes."
She continued, "People were amazing, a man emptied his beach trolley and put Lula in it. I picked them up from the clock tower and managed to get her into my car. I went to drive to Axminster vets and she was having awful fits and blood was coming out of her mouth. Lula died before we made it to the A35. It was awful, in about 40 minutes from eating the plant, she was dead."
Dog Eats Deadly Beach Plant
Located in the United Kingdom as well as several other countries, the plant is deadly. In fact, people have died from it in the past.
Mark Green, deputy town clerk at Lyme Regis Town Council said: 'We have never had any serious occurrence in the past like this from this plant, it is fair to describe it as a one-off. It came as a huge shock to everybody. The River Lim is not our responsibility, however we are clearing this plant from the river bank wherever we are able to. We have also put together a letter, which we are handing to all landowners adjoining the river, which provides information about the plant and its potential risks."
He also said, "We are requesting that they do not cut it and throw it into the river. We are also putting up signs, warning people to look out for this plant."
