Edinburgh woman issues warning after 'bright and crazy' dog dies just hours after trip to park

A heartbroken Edinburgh woman has issued a warning to dog owners after her beloved English Bulldog passed away just hours after a walk in the park.

Rachel McLean took Owen, the four-year-old pooch, to Roseburn Park. He suddenly started "walking drunk" and was "unable to support his own weight".

She initially thought he had heatstroke, so she took him home and covered him with a cold wet towel. Before long he was throwing up, and Rachel realised something was really wrong when his tongue turned blue.

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The family rushed Owen to the emergency vet at midnight, and by 2am he had been put down. They were told by a vet that he had likely consumed mould or poison while in the park.

Speaking to Edinburgh Live, grief-stricken Rachel said: "My English Bulldog was completely fine and his usual energetic self before going for a walk.

"We took our other dog too, a Bullmastiff down to the park to throw the ball for them. Owen, the bulldog started walking drunk and was unable to support his own weight.

"We thought it was heatstroke, so we said we would monitor this ourselves and took him up to the house in the car, as he couldn’t walk at about 8am. We covered him with a cold wet towel, which helped slow his breathing and bring his temperature down.

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"He started being sick and pooing himself and we realised something was wrong when his tongue started going blue. He was still being sick but his jaw was locked so he couldn’t get any of his sick out and was inhaling it."

By midnight, Rachel decided it was time to take Owen to the emergency vet. Only two hours later, he had been put down.

She continued: "They put him on oxygen immediately but couldn’t get bloods from him to run tests as to what he had ingested that was toxic.

"The vet said it wasn’t heatstroke. She suggested mould the size of a finger nail from a mushroom growing, or someone having left food out.

"It was going to cost thousands to fix him and there was no guarantee that he would be okay after that. He had very weak lungs anyway and had now had pneumonia. In the best interest of Owen, we decided to put him down to end his suffering.

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"I’m aware that the grass had recently been cut and my sister said the grass was sticky. I have read articles about this meaning poison for dogs since his passing.

"I wish I knew then what I knew now so hopefully our baby would still be alive. He was four-years-old and a bright, energetic, crazy and extremely funny dog.

"The baby of the family we called him. He’s now in a box on our fireplace."