50 Bags of Rat Poison Found in Shrubs
Over 50 bags of rat poison were dumped in the landscaping outside some restaurants on South Lake Union. Used with permission by Seattle DogSpot.
Early this afternoon a friend of mind texted me that her dog ate rat poison scattered around sidewalks and shrubs near restaurants in South Lake Union.
The dog’s owner and another woman said they saw approximately 50 bags of rat poison in the planters outside some of the restaurants there. They also saw pellets of the rat poison scattered on the sidewalk, which is where her dog found it.
When she saw the bags of rat poison near the pellets, she immediately took her dog to an emergency vet. The dog, a 4-year-old Staffie/Cattle Dog mix name Maddie, is expected to recover but she has to take blood clotting medication and keep quiet for the next month.
After her dog was treated and back home, my friend went back to the area to alert the restaurants about the poison and ensure they cleaned it up.
The brand of the poison was Ramik® Green. The label says, “HAZARD TO HUMANS AND DOMESTIC ANIMALS CAUTION: Keep away from humans, domestic animals and pets. If swallowed, this material may reduce the clotting ability of the blood and cause bleeding.” It smells like fish to attract rodents.
The rat poison interferes with the production of blood clotting factors. Dogs that ingest it usually die of excessive internal bleeding in 3-5 days.
Who’s Responsible?
So the obvious question is: Who left 50 bags of rat poison outside South Lake Union restaurants?
The brand of rat poison used was Ramik® Green. Photo used with permission by Seattle DogSpot.
I think it was careless landscapers. The dog’s owner said, “The ones in the planter were so dense it was clear their purpose was to carpet-bomb rats.”
It does make sense. I don’t think someone who wanted to poison dogs would dump dozens of bags of it in planters outside restaurants. And he/she would have looked kind of conspicuous carrying 50+ bags of rat poison around South Lake Union.
If landscapers left the poison then I whomever owns the property hired them.
City Officials Must Investigate
I plan to alert city officials and agencies about this incident and find out if they will conduct and investigation. Intentional or not, dumping that much rat poison in a public area near Lake Union endangers pets, kids, adults, water quality, and fish.
This is probably the worst week of the year to find city officials so I may not learn much until after the new year. I’ll let you know when I hear something. ‘
There is one nice Christmas story that came from this near-tragedy. Maddie and my friend started their hike at Gas Works Park. The place where Maddie ate the rat poison was a couple of miles walk from the park.
As they hurried back to their car they met a couple at the Fremont Bridge who drove them the rest of the way to their car after they found out that Maddie has to get to the emergency room as quickly as possible.
Here’s a short video of the bags of rate poison in the shrubs:
Some of the bags were torn open and the pellets were scattered on the sidewalk. That’s where Maddie found them. Photo used with permission by Seattle DogSpot.
Another bag. Photo used with permission by Seattle DogSpot.
Maddie is doing well after a trip to the emergency vet. She has to be on medication for about a month. Photo used with permission by Seattle DogSpot.
There were rat traps in the area as well. Photo used with permission by Seattle DogSpot.
Thank you so much for informing us and going forward to report this. Clearly this must be illegal and we walk our pups regularly in that area. I can’t imagine facing a tragedy as a result of blatant disregard for life as this illustrates. Thank you!
Thanks, I hope the word gets out quickly.
Did they contact the restaurant owners too? I would think it would be them to either correct or prevent an obvious rat problem around their eating establishments.
Rats and mice have been a common issue around lake union for decades and probably pretty had to get rid of considering the amount of water and people in the area.
They did thanks.
I have seen similar rat poisoning near the sidewalks up where I live on East Queen Anne – near Dexter and Crockett. I made sure my two Frenchies didn’t eat it but this is a terrible thing.
If you see it again please let me know.
I don’t understand why anyone would do that, it’s very cruel.
As a person who runs a restaurant in that neighborhood, that concerns me. I will say that much of this sort of activity is by request of the property management companies as well. Certainly let the restaurants know, but find out who manages the property and makes sure they know, too.
I will thank you. I’ve already filed a complaint with the state as well.
Would you be willing to talk toned burnside at Komo. He’s doing a story on the rat poison. If you’re interested please email your contact info to rpregulman@seattledogspot.com
First of all, that’s not a rat trap. It’s a bait box. They’re used to keep poison from being scattered around. Pest control companies use them because it’s the law. Whoever did this did not know what they’re doing. Poison is NEVER left in the open.
SECURITY CAMERAS, SECURITY CAMERAS PEOPLE!! Would you leave your kids out unattended in the front yard with just a fence and no cameras?
Wow, we just spent $6000 saving our Greyhound from a thrombolysis event. She spent 5 days in intensive care getting Plasma transfusions and anticoagulants. The vets have no idea what caused this, toxicology wasn’t done since they thought it was Von Willebrands disease, but subsequent tests after she was out of crisis sort of ruled that out.
This could certainly explain the mystery.
Glad she’s ok. It definitely could have been rat poison.
I work in Chandlers Cove near where this happened. After reading this I searched near by to see if I could find more of the blue poison nearby– there wasn’t any near the play ground, Dukes, Chandlers Crab House, John L Scott or El Chupacabra. Apparently it was only on the side dock near Yale street.
I also spoke with building maintenance and they assured me that they do not use the loose poison, which is a terrible and dangerous product. They employ Terminex– which is a professional pest control company.
The black box traps in the photo were placed by Terminex, the poison is only accessible through the holes designed for rodents. It keeps the product away from humans and pets. I spoke with Terminex today and they said they were also calling all of the businesses near by to see if they could figure out who was responsible. He said they would never use loose poison which could put the company at risk for a lawsuit.
My guess is the loose poison was from an individual that acted without notifying the proper people. Everything we do here has to be approved by the property management, and I know that they would have called pest control to come address any issues at that location. Who ever spread the blue poison did so on there own.
It makes me very sad that someone would do this near the lake where there are children, pets, and wildlife at risk. Shame on them!
Thank you for the information. I’m know the state will be speaking with the property management to figure out what happened. If it was one person who did it on their own it’s odd he/she used so much and dumped it all in the same area.