Dogs die after apparently eating poison at Lindley Wood Reservoir

Manni Peacock, of Bingley, who runs the Muddy Paws Walking and Boarding Service, lost her dog Bear earlier this month when he fell ill after eating something on a walk at Lindley Wood Reservoir.

And since posting on her Facebook page about the tragic death, Manni has been inundated with more reports about other dogs falling ill, with at least one, Winston, owned by James Bevan, of Leeds, also sadly dying after again eating something toxic in the same area a few weeks later.

A devastated Manni has reported the incidents to both the police and Yorkshire Water, and is now warning all dog owners to be aware, so they can keep away or keep their dogs on the lead in this area.

She said: "Bear meant so much to our whole family, he brought every single one of us something different. I don't want this happening to any other family. We are devastated."

Bear (Image: submitted)

Manni started her walk with Cockerpoo Bear from Lindley Woods on Sunday, March 31. Accompanied by a friend and other dogs, they did a circular walk around Lindley Reservoir, which is owned by Yorkshire Water.

Towards the end of the walk she noticed Bear had disappeared and had to shout for him to return, which is when she thinks he ate something poisonous.

The following day, which was bank holiday Monday, she noticed Bear was lapping lots of water, had been sick and appeared very limp.

She made an appointment for him to see a vet on Tuesday morning but his condition deteriorated rapidly that morning and he began fitting.

Manni Peacock and Bear (Image: submitted)

When the vet saw Bear he was so unwell they talked about euthanasia. "I begged them to do anything to help him," said Manni. "They didn't have the facilities to put him on a drip so we took him to the other practice and they put him on a drip. We left him there and hoped he was going to pull through."

However tests revealed levels to do with his kidneys were really high and he had eaten something very toxic, causing kidney damage and nothing could be done to save him.

"I was just in shock, it was like a nightmare," she said. "Since then I have been sharing it far and wide trying to spread awareness so nobody else has to go through this. Our house feels empty, I can't bear to put his things away."

Winston's owner James Bevan believes he ate something poisonous on Sunday, April 7, during a walk at Lindley Wood Reservoir.

Despite treatment, which included taking him to Royal Veterinary College QMA in London for dialysis, Winston sadly died.

Determined to find out what had happened to Winston, James began looking for other dog owners who might have also been affected and came across Manni's posts online about Bear.

James said: "Other dog walkers have reported similar stories of their dogs becoming unwell, we don't know conclusively what that is but there is definitely a risk.

"I'd advise others to avoid walking with your dogs along Lindley Wood Reservoir. If you are going to walk there, keep your dog on a lead, be vigilant and if you do suspect that your dog has eaten something or come into contact with something that they shouldn't have take them to the vets immediately. Ultimately it's not going to bring him back but I'm just hoping we can stop it happening to somebody else."

A Yorkshire Water spokesperson said: “We are saddened to hear of these incidents, which we were made aware of via social media. Our colleagues have not found anything suspicious at the reservoir, but we would encourage the dog owners to reach out to our customer service team and share specific details of where they were walking at the time so we can establish if this was on land owned by Yorkshire Water, and if so, support with any required investigation.

"In the meantime, we would continue to urge walkers and owners to remain vigilant and keep their dogs on a lead when walking around our reservoirs, for their safety, and the safety of surrounding wildlife.”

A spokesperson for North Yorkshire Police said: "We are appealing for information after two dogs sadly died after eating something that is believed to be toxic on a walk at Lindley Wood Reservoir between 31 March and 15 April.
"We were made aware of what happened at around 4pm on Tuesday 16 April 2024.
"We’re carrying out enquiries to find out more about what happened.
"If you have any information that can help us with our investigation, please get in touch.
"We would also like to hear from any other dog owners who believe their dog may have been affected in similar circumstances after visiting the location in recent weeks.
"You can email pierre.olesqui@northyorkshire.police.uk. Or you can call us on 101 quoting job number 12240069458.
"If you have information but you would like to stay anonymous you can contact Crimestoppers on 0800 555 111 or via their website."