A Question About Strychnine Poisoning?

[Tiercel 6,986]

Many years ago I had been lamping on ground that I later found out had been done with strychnine for moles. One field in particular had a lot of mole hills and plenty of puddles I ran the dog in the field, and as it was the last field of the night we went straight back to the car and headed home.

 

On the way home I got stopped by the police, long story short they wanted to search the car. When I called the dog off his blanket on the back seat he could not stand, half an hour before he had been fine. I told them I needed to get him to a vet and they let me go. By the time I got home he was vomiting and deficating at the same time also during the bouts he was going rigid. Phoning the vet and giving the symptoms he stated it sounded like strychnine poisoning but would not attend. All he told me to do was to get as much water down the dog as I could and he would see me in the morning.

 

I stayed up all night pouring water down the dog while he was still having the fits of rigidness and vomiting and defication by about 5 am it slowed down but the dog was still weak. He fell asleep about 5.30 and so did I I woke at 9 to find him up on his feet waiting by the door to be let out. I did not go to the vet as the dog seemed fine.

 

At that time I did not know that they used strychnine to poison moles but I phoned the farmer and asked had they used strychnine at all on the land and he told me about the moles being baited with the worms laced with the poison and that the field had been done the week previous.

 

Long winded I know, but do you think it could have actually have been strychnine poisoning through secondary poisoning from the water when he started licking himself off in the car? It has always puzzled me and Matts post on sock's thread reminded me of it.

 

TC

Edited March 11, 2014 by tiercel

[Matt 160]

Strychnine is/was water soluble, so your theory sounds plausible and the fact that the dog survived also suggests the poison was diluted, which all adds up.

 

There were some cowboys that used to use the stuff, of that there is no doubt...

 

Good on you saving the dog though credit where it's due

[Tiercel 6,986]

Matt, if what happend was due to strychnine poisoning, it does beg the question how much stock injested the stuff?

 

TC

[Outlaw Pete 2,224]

Never had any time for strychnine ~ or any f**ker who'd routinely use it ~ myself. Vile stuff.

 

Most satisfying story I ever heard was of a couple of Australian trappers. In a word; They were found dead, by their camp fires remains.

 

Upshot was that it was deduced that they'd been caught in some heavy rain. Thus, pissed on and pissed off, they'd made a fire to dry themselves out and warm by.

 

However, they never took the packs off their backs. Maybe because these had absorbed the worst of the water? The water, that is, except for that which had permeated their stashes of strychnine.

 

Thus, a saturate solution of strychnine had soaked through to the skin of their backs.

 

That would have been right about when the fun and games begun for them ..... They learned the true, ozzie, meaning of what it was like to " Die Like A Dog "