From the Murray Mail archive: first published in the club's newsletter, issue 3 (April 2011), and dated here to when it first appeared.
No. There is no antidote to 1080 poison, and a vet told one of our members that they rarely see a dog alive after it has eaten a bait. If you see a sign for a baiting program anywhere near where you are going, leave your dog at home.
That is the lesson of a close call in 2011, when two dogs, one of them a Murray, found a fox bait at a family’s favourite spot in the bush. Kim Radnell, then the club’s Communications Officer, wrote it up for members as “1080 - A Cautionary Tale”.
What happened
The family went out to their local bit of bush, the Stanley State Forest in north east Victoria, with three dogs: two Labradors, Lily and Abbey, and Kim’s Murray, Stella. There was a sign at the way in.
“As we drove in to the forest we noticed a sign indicating that there was a baiting program, but it just didn’t sink in that the program would be run so close to the designated camp site where we had often stayed for a weekend, or like today, just an afternoon.”
As they were packing up to go home, Kim’s sister saw Stella eating something beside the track and stopped her, but not before she had eaten some of it. Lily had found it too. “The mysterious stuff had been deliberately dug in, there was a lot of churned earth, and a stick was standing up in the middle of it - clearly a human thing.” It was a 1080 fox bait.
They headed for Yackandandah and made the dogs drink warm, very salty water to bring the bait back up. “We knew there was not a lot of chance that the dogs would make the half hour drive into Albury alive if they didn’t vomit up the bait.”
The vet on duty that Sunday gave both dogs an injection to make them vomit, and both were admitted to hospital to have their stomachs pumped. She also gave them a mixture of brown vinegar and vodka. In Kim’s words, “She told us it was not a ‘recognised treatment’ but it was our only possible chance. The idea was to slow down the dog’s metabolism so they wouldn’t metabolise the poison they had already digested.”
Both dogs lived. “It was the hugest relief to hear the vet tell us that both dogs were going to be fine!” After a couple of weeks of house arrest (“yeah right!”) they were given a clean bill of health.
Why they were lucky
“There is no antidote for 1080 poison! If your dog takes a bait, they are in deep trouble.”
Kim asked the vet whether they saw more poisoned dogs while baiting programs were running. The answer was that they don’t usually see live dogs that have eaten 1080: they are “always dead by the time they get to us”.
What a 1080 bait looks like
“To begin with, the bait looks like beef jerky, but black. It is dug into the ground and as it absorbs water, it changes to a yellowish paste-like consistency - similar to Philly cheese.”
The bait Stella found was white. It was fairly fresh, but heavy rain had diluted it, so a bait will not always look the way you expect.
Who lays the baits
Government agencies use 1080 baits from time to time to control foxes and wild dogs (in Victoria in 2011, the Department of Primary Industries), and signs advertising the program are a required part of it. Farmers are also allowed to use 1080 to protect their stock.
Key points
- There is no antidote to 1080.
- A baiting sign means baits may be close to tracks and camp sites, not only deep in the bush.
- Baits are dug in: look out for churned earth with a stick standing up in it.
- A bait can look like black beef jerky, a yellowish paste or, after rain, something white.
- Kim’s lesson, in her own capitals: if you see a sign for a baiting program anywhere near where you are, “DON’T TAKE YOUR DOG!”
Please note: this is one family’s experience in 2011, not veterinary advice. The vinegar and vodka mixture was, in the vet’s own words, not a recognised treatment. If you think your dog has taken a bait, go to the nearest vet straight away.
Adapted from the MRRA newsletter archive: “1080 - A Cautionary Tale” by Kim Radnell, Communications Officer, Murray Mail issue 3 (April 2011), written when the club was the Murray River Curly Coated Retriever Association. Members can read the original issue.
