mirajam Posted October 1, 2008 Share Posted October 1, 2008 We planned a lovely weekend away in Country VIC at a 'pet friendly' Bed & Breakfast in Murindindi It was lovely - an old school house, converted. The owner met us and our two dogs on the first day, made sure all was OK (blocked gaps in fences etc). But they left RAT BAIT under the bed in the house!! Our teensy puppy (12 weeks old silky terrier X) got under there, of course and ate some. We thought she was playing with a cereal box we'd left for her to play with - it was a yellow coloured box of "2nd generation" rat bait . ... This means it lasts about 4 weeks in her system, according to the vet. So she needs 4 weeks of Vitamin K treatment because the bait prevents her liver recycling the Vit K and she could bleed internally/die. How horrible. Our older dog (Westie X) started acting oddly, and the Vet said she also needs treatment in case she ate some too... So, two dogs on 4 weeks of 2 x daily Vitamin K tablets The B&B owner is being HORRIBLE about it - told me first that her vet doubted that 4 weeks treatment was needed (said only 5 days). Clearly wasn't told the chemical name on the box - I looked it up, and the after hours country vet's advice (which I confirmed the next day with our regular vet) was correct.... Now the B&B owner says she won't pay vet bills unless we prove 100% that the bait was eaten. Does she want us to wait until the poor soul starts bleeding internally and needs hospitalisation? How crazy is this? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GotAnyBlacker Posted October 1, 2008 Share Posted October 1, 2008 (edited) We planned a lovely weekend away in Country VIC at a 'pet friendly' Bed & Breakfast in Murindindi It was lovely - an old school house, converted. The owner met us and our two dogs on the first day, made sure all was OK (blocked gaps in fences etc). But they left RAT BAIT under the bed in the house!! Our teensy puppy (12 weeks old silky terrier X) got under there, of course and ate some. We thought she was playing with a cereal box we'd left for her to play with - it was a yellow coloured box of "2nd generation" rat bait . ... This means it lasts about 4 weeks in her system, according to the vet. So she needs 4 weeks of Vitamin K treatment because the bait prevents her liver recycling the Vit K and she could bleed internally/die. How horrible. Our older dog (Westie X) started acting oddly, and the Vet said she also needs treatment in case she ate some too... So, two dogs on 4 weeks of 2 x daily Vitamin K tablets The B&B owner is being HORRIBLE about it - told me first that her vet doubted that 4 weeks treatment was needed (said only 5 days). Clearly wasn't told the chemical name on the box - I looked it up, and the after hours country vet's advice (which I confirmed the next day with our regular vet) was correct.... Now the B&B owner says she won't pay vet bills unless we prove 100% that the bait was eaten. Does she want us to wait until the poor soul starts bleeding internally and needs hospitalisation? How crazy is this? Name and shame please. Hope the poor things recover! Edited October 1, 2008 by Qute74 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
baifra Posted October 1, 2008 Share Posted October 1, 2008 Oh how bloody devastating for you!!! Follow it through. The owners need to take some responsibility. They offer a service (pet friendly accom) so need to ensure that it really is pet friendly!!! Ratbait should not be left in an easily accessable area period!! Take care. I hope your two little ones pull through. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
morgan Posted October 1, 2008 Share Posted October 1, 2008 Different types of rat baits need diffferent vitamin K regimes - of course the long acting ones need more time on the tablets! Sometimes it is easy to tell if a dog has eaten bait due to the dye showing up in the poo, but that is only for the one or two after it's eaten the bait. Speak to a solicitor - chances are her insurance would cover it anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caesars mum Posted October 1, 2008 Share Posted October 1, 2008 that is really appalling I hope your little guys make a full and speedy recovery could you take them to small claims court. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paganman Posted October 1, 2008 Share Posted October 1, 2008 I dunno that theres much you can do you could maybe get legal advice but how much were the vet bills?Consult with a legal would probably cost more than the bills.Not good and I can understand how you feel but you might have to put it down to bad luck and move on.I hope your dogs are ok. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mirajam Posted October 1, 2008 Author Share Posted October 1, 2008 (edited) My vet said it should be an easy small claims case - and of course it was reasonable to treat immediately - she even provided her notes etc. I have enough experience to run a case if necessary... but I would have hoped the owner would just say "So sorry, let us pay the vet bill"! [edited to remove accommodation name...] I felt really horrible - sick to my stomach - when I realised they'd left out rat bait. Why would somebody be so careless? My poor girls.... Some of the technical papers say this stuff can stay in animals for months. They will need blood tests and further treatment if their blood clotting isn't normal even after 4 weeks treatment Edited October 2, 2008 by mirajam Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Becky in Oz Posted October 1, 2008 Share Posted October 1, 2008 Looks beautiful. I'd puursue it. Fancy being pet friendly then leavcing rat bait out. Serious negligence and forgetting it was there is not an option. They are at fault and should pay the vet bills in the very least. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tassie Posted October 1, 2008 Share Posted October 1, 2008 Good grief - and they charge enough, too . That's horrendously expensive - double what most places I stay have charged. I'm so sorry for you and the poor pups - hope they recover well. Lucky for them they have a cluey owner who got onto it straight away. Bet you feel like putting that info in the guest review on their site. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
~Anne~ Posted October 1, 2008 Share Posted October 1, 2008 Ratbait should not be left in an easily accessable area period!! Absolutely! What were they thinking! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mirajam Posted October 1, 2008 Author Share Posted October 1, 2008 ...I'm so sorry for you and the poor pups - hope they recover well. Lucky for them they have a cluey owner who got onto it straight away.Bet you feel like putting that info in the guest review on their site. Thanks all. I'm pretty worried - I'm told some dogs can die without symptoms. The littlest pup is just over 1kg and probably ate enough to kill 10 dogs Once they're out of the woods, then I'll send all the vet bills - two visits so far, and more for the follow up blood tests, even if all goes well. I'm so glad that I remembered that this stuff is slow acting and got onto it even though she looked OK... probably thanks to this forum for the educatin' ! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MissMolly Posted October 1, 2008 Share Posted October 1, 2008 How terrible! hope your two get through this ok, and i would certainly be taken this further if they are refusing to pay.. Certainly not pet friendly.. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GotAnyBlacker Posted October 1, 2008 Share Posted October 1, 2008 (edited) I say you review them Edited October 2, 2008 by Qute74 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
eclecticgirl Posted October 1, 2008 Share Posted October 1, 2008 (edited) Mirajam, I hope your bubs are going to be ok, sounds very promising good luck. As tempting as it may be to write a damning review, I would wait and try and get the money from them first. They will just keep playing hard ball. Did you pay with a credit card? Sometimes some credit cards have an inbuilt insurance with it when you pay for a service or goods with the credit card. Not all cards do, but our citibank card does. (we dont pay extra for that service either) Just keep repeating the phrase "duty of care"........to them They can probably get a very bad review removed anyway saying they had a vindictive client come to stay, etc etc....... Oh yes I wouldnt be letting them get away with it, apalling leaving rat bait out!!!! Are they dumb or what!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Good luck Edited October 1, 2008 by eclecticgirl Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam&Saki Posted October 1, 2008 Share Posted October 1, 2008 Oh that is just horrendous! However I'm so glad to hear your dogs survived - best wishes for them both to recover fully and promptly x Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vickie Posted October 1, 2008 Share Posted October 1, 2008 (edited) That is OUTRAGEOUS! Of course they are responsible. Best wishes for your little ones. I hope it's OK, but I am going to I post this (not the place, just the situation) on another forum as a warning. Edited October 1, 2008 by Vickie Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TerraNik Posted October 1, 2008 Share Posted October 1, 2008 Oh no!!!!! What an awful, awful thing to have happened!!!!!!!!!!! I hope your puppers recover with no long term effects. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
puggy_puggy Posted October 1, 2008 Share Posted October 1, 2008 OMG. How negligent of them. Hope your puppies come through this ok. If anything good come out of this it will make the rest of us check and double check anywhere we stay with our own pets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mixy Posted October 1, 2008 Share Posted October 1, 2008 That is an awful thing to happen. I did notice that on the website it said 'pets allowed' not 'pet friendly', do you think that might make a difference in terms of legality? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jed Posted October 1, 2008 Share Posted October 1, 2008 How worrying. I hope both dogs will fully recover. I think "proof" would constitute a letter or a report from the vet, and if you sent that with a letter asking for payment, saying that you found the rat bait under the bed, and found the dogs eating it. That would be sufficient proof. A claim in the small claims/magistrate's court is not expensive in any case. However, once you have provided proof, the B&B owner may well simply pay. Retailers etc. generally wont pay up on your word alone (probably been taken for a ride before) but most will if you can demonstrate that the problem was their fault. :rolleyes: As this obviously was. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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