Dogs die after ‘ingesting poison’ while on walk in quiet Devon village

The two spaniels were being walked by their owners at Fingle Bridge on Dartmoor, near Drewsteignton

Fingle Bridge in Dartmoor (Google Maps)

Police are investigating after two dogs died suddenly while out on a walk in a quaint village in Devon.

The two spaniels were being walked by their owners at Fingle Bridge on Dartmoor, near Drewsteignton, when they became unwell on Friday 12 April.

Both dogs were taken to the vets, but both died, police confirmed. Lucy McCance, said that her spring-spaniel cross, called Biggs, was rushed to the vet after becoming unwell the evening after his walk.

She told the BBC: “I contacted my friend who I’d been on the walk with and said ‘my dog is really ill’ and she said ‘well, that’s very odd, because my dog is very ill as well’.

“When the vets did the bloods on her dog, what they found was that the blood test results were exactly the same, so both dogs had ingested something on the walk that was poisonous.”

Ms McCance said Biggs died on 15 April after a “huge haemorrhage” at the vets.

She added: “My friend’s dog lasted a bit longer and died pretty horrifically a couple of days later.

“It’s been absolutely horrendous. Biggs was my best friend and he was the best dog in the whole world.

“Nothing’s going to bring my dog back, nothing’s going to bring my friend’s dog back.

“I just want nobody else to have to go through this, no other dog to die in such horrendous circumstances.”

Fingle Bridge on Dartmoor is owned by the National Trust (NT), who said they were aware of the incidents.

A spokesperson for the NT said: “We are very sorry to hear that subsequently two dogs have died. We take this very seriously and our rangers are investigating and searching our land – so far nothing has been found and there is no evidence of anything on land in our care that could have caused the dogs to fall ill.

“Our thoughts are with the owners of these family pets during this difficult time.”

A spokesperson for Devon and Cornwall Police said: |Police have received a report of two separate incidents around 12 April where dogs being walked in the area of Drewsteignton are believed to have ingested a poison.

“The dogs sadly died following the incidents and enquiries are ongoing to understand the full circumstances.

“Anyone with information which may assist us is asked to please contact police on 101 quoting log 300 of 20/4/24.”