Recent poisonings raise concerns for dog owners in Eastern Oregon
By Shannon Weidemann (McKone) on Monday, August 19th, 2024 in More Top Stories Northeastern Oregon News
EASTERN OREGON — Recently the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife (ODFW) has seen an increase in a very serious issue in Eastern Oregon, mainly in Baker, Umatilla and Wallowa Counties. Because of this increasing issue, Elkhorn Media Group (EMG) sat down with ODFW’s Michelle Dennehy (MD) to discuss what is happening and what can be done.
(EMG) Let’s start with an introduction of who you are and what your affiliation with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife is.
(MD) My name is Michelle Dennehy and I’m a spokesperson with the Oregon Department of Fish and Wildlife.
(EMG) Something serious has been taking place recently in the region. So, what’s happening that people should be aware of?
(MD) Yes. So, we’ve seen some poisonings in Northeast Oregon and this poison was likely left to kill wildlife. But we’ve seen dogs killed too. So, with this being a popular time of year to be outdoors in Northeast Oregon, we just want to let everyone know so they can take steps to protect their dog.
(EMG) Can you give us more specifics on what this looks like?
(MD) So what we see is that when dogs are left off leash and are wandering freely, they can get into trouble. The most recent things we’re seeing are dogs being poisoned. Again, poison likely left out to kill wildlife, but a dog got into it and died.
That’s the immediate problem we’re seeing, but to be honest, keeping dogs on the leash when outdoors avoids a lot of other problems. For example, recently we’ve seen dogs on the coast eat dead fish and be sickened by something called salmon poisoning. This can also happen in Northeast Oregon where there’s salmon.
We get reports of dogs injured by large animals like deer and elk, particularly during calving season or other sensitive times of the year. Dogs can also bring predators like bears and cougars back to you if you’re outdoors because they’re naturally territorial animals. And then other times of year, for example, when legal trapping seasons are open, we see unleashed dogs get caught in traps and that’s really very frightening for their owners.
So again, beyond this immediate concern of poisoning, there are other reasons why it’s a good idea to keep your dog on a leash when you’re outdoors. Beyond the protection it provides to your dog, dogs can get into sensitive habitat, they can disturb nesting birds, they could inadvertently harass big game. We have a lot of closures on winter range to protect the big game during that time of year, when their energy reserves are very low. Overall it is just an idea to have your dog on a leash.
(EMG) If I think my dog has been poisoned, what should I do?
(MD) You want to immediately seek medical attention for your dog from your veterinarian. Unfortunately, this poison can be very fast acting, so you may not even make it to a vet on time, so it’s also a good idea to know what to carry to induce vomiting in your dog. And a veterinarian can give you advice on that, and then again, just keeping your dog on a leash so it doesn’t get into anything that it shouldn’t is your best bet to keep it safe.
(EMG) What are some signs of poison and what should people look out for?
(MD) Some signs of poison would be, for example, a carcass with powders or strange colors on it. Something that looks like bait, such as a ball of meat or a piece of steak, and then another sign of poison, is just if you see dead animals, a lot of dead animals. So, for example, you might see dead birds, you might see dead scavenging animals such as coyotes, that’s a sign that something’s not right, and may be indicative of poison.
(EMG) What should people do if they see signs of poison in the outdoors?
(MD) You should get some details on the incident, such as, what’s your location, what’s the date and time you’re seeing it? If you see people or cars nearby we wouldn’t recommend approaching them, but it’s a good idea to get some information on the vehicle like a license plate number and a description. And then you should just report it to Oregon State Police as soon as you can. You can dial *OSP to easily reach Oregon State Police.
(EMG) What else can people do to help with this situation?
(MD) We just encourage people to tell their friends, tell their neighbors, and just encourage them to be aware of these risks to dogs in the outdoors and then encourage them to keep their dog on a leash and report signs of poison or something else that’s not right. Again you can contact Oregon State Police at *OSP.
(EMG) Thanks Michelle for taking time to share this information with us.
