Irish Setter was NOT poisoned at Crufts

Irish Setter not poisoned at Crufts, KC says

Created: 10/03/2015

THE KENNEL Club has issued a statement saying the Irish Setter Thendara Satisfaction ‘was not poisoned at Crufts’.

A toxicology report into three-year-old Jagger’s death has shown that he had consumed two pesticides – aldicarb and carbofuran; the latter is banned in Europe.

These are fast-acting, the KC said, and would have had an effect within a time frame of half-an-hour to three hours.

In a statement entitled ‘The Truth’, which ‘slammed’ rumours of other poisonings at the show, the KC said the timelines indicated that Jagger ‘almost certainly’ consumed the poison in Belgium, the KC said, after he had returned to co-owners Willem and Aleksandra Lauwers’ home.

KC secretary Caroline Kisko said this evening: "Our deepest sympathies go to Jagger’s owners, who have received confirmation that Jagger tragically died from the ingestion of poisoned material, and we ask that their privacy is respected as they grieve for their beloved pet.

"There has been a lot of concern about whether the poisoning happened at Crufts and we are now able to reassure all dog lovers who came to Crufts that this could not have been possible and it is highly likely that the poisons, thought to be on a piece of beef, were eaten in Belgium, shortly before Jagger’s death.

"We have had confirmation, including from independent toxicologists, that the poisons identified in the toxicology report – carbofuran and aldicarb – are fast acting. Severe clinical symptoms would usually occur within half an hour to three hours.

"Considering we are told that Jagger showed the first clinical signs usually associated with these two poisons shortly before his death in Belgium, late on the night of Friday March 6, leading to the immediate call for veterinary attention, we must conclude that it is inconceivable that he could have been poisoned at Crufts on Thursday March 5, some 28 to 36 hours earlier.

"Furthermore, the poison is thought to have been given on a piece of beef that was still largely undigested when the autopsy was performed on the morning of Saturday March 7, and food is usually absorbed in dogs within six hours.

"We must stress that despite reports to the contrary which have caused a lot of concern to dog lovers, absolutely no dog has been shown to have been sick at or after Crufts due to poison ingested at the show, there are no veterinary reports or evidence to support this notion, and no official reports of poisoning have been made to the police.

"We have a lot of security measures in place to protect the dogs at our show and we continually review our procedures because the welfare and safety of the dogs is our first and main priority.

"Regardless of the fact that the poison was not ingested at Crufts a dog has very sadly died and we must now respect the owners' privacy and give them time to grieve.”

Full story in this week’s DOG WORLD.