An animal lover is warning dog owners after her pet ingested potentially lethal rat poison left out on a country lane in Headcorn.

Wendy Hinds came across dozens of pellets at the entrance to a footpath off Tattlebury Lane, leading to Great Tong Farm, during her morning walk on Wednesday.

Her new rescue dog Gracie was rushed into Maidstone Vets 4 Pets after gobbling up the poison, which can cause internal bleeding with fatal results.

The pooch is now home and on the mend, but Ms Hinds is warning other pet owners to be vigilant.

She fears the poison was put down maliciously after hearing from other walkers that poison had been cleared from the same spot just days before.

Ms Hinds said: “Luckily I managed to flick some of the bits of whatever she had picked up out of her mouth, and picked up as much of the remaining poison that I could, both to save other dogs and to show the vets.

“Gracie was given injections to make her sick and charcoal to soak up anything that she didn’t bring up.

“Please keep your eyes peeled and your dogs on a close rein, this has turned out to be very distressing to both us and Gracie.”

The case is yet to be reported to the police, but Ms Hinds said she would make them aware.

Angela van der Park, a vet at the Sutton Road surgery, said: “Cases like this are not uncommon for us to see, we get them about once a month.

“Rat poison causes issues with blood clotting, which is a real danger and usually takes a few days to take effect.

“If the owner does not know their dog has eaten it, it can lead to invasive treatment such as a blood transfusion.

“Our advice is to go a vet straight away if you suspect your pet has eaten something
it shouldn’t, and to bring a sample of the poison along if you can.”