By Paul Dunlop
TWO prize dogs bred by Dalmore woman Danielle Inverno are lucky to be alive after they were allegedly poisoned while competing at the Royal Hobart Show.
Mrs Inverno was distraught to learn the pair of Border Collies, one of which she owns, had become extremely ill after allegedly being fed snail bait wrapped in meat.
Mrs Inverno did not attend the show but sent her dog Sharni to Hobart where it was to be exhibited by the other dog’s owners, who live in Tasmania.
She said she was horrified when she heard of the alleged poisoning and suspects foul play.
“I am still struggling to come to terms with it,” Mrs Inverno told the Gazette. “To think somebody could do something like that to an innocent animal. I love my dogs, they are very special to me and I can’t believe anybody, particularly somebody who is supposed to be a dog lover too, could do such a thing.”
The dogs won first prize at the Royal Melbourne Show in September and also won at Launceston before competing at Hobart.
Both Sharni and her brother Nelson became ill at the show on Wednesday, 19 October. They were rushed to the North Hobart Veterinary Hospital where their stomachs were pumped.
Sharni almost died, Mrs Inverno said.
“My dogs were the only ones who got sick, I don’t think it was an accident,” she said.
The vet report revealed fastacting blue snail bait had been found in the dogs’ systems.
Mrs Inverno said the bait could only have been eaten after the dogs arrived at the showgrounds because the vet report said it had been in their systems for between 15 and 60 minutes. The dogs were taken to the show at 7 am.
Mrs Inverno said she was contacted by Nelson’s owners Craig and Selena Jones and heard the dogs had been vomiting and had diarrhoea before both collapsed. “It was very, very upsetting. I really don’t have words to describe it,” she said.
A dog breeder for 15 years, Mrs Inverno said it was the first time something like this had happened. She said both dogs would fully recover and had been touched by the many phone calls and messages of support.
Police are investigating the alleged poisoning.