A DOG owner has spoken of his worry and heartache after his pets were left fighting for their lives following a country walk.

Brian Ellis’s wife Loveday had returned home from walking their two West Highland terriers on Tuesday, June 19 when they started acting strangely.

Retired nurse Loveday walked Lily and Alfie on their normal route through the woods in Ragged Appleshaw and the pair had come into contact with an unknown but dangerous substance.

Brian said: “Loveday got back and she didn’t think anything was wrong but about 20 minutes later Lily, who is four-years-old, obviously wasn’t very happy and it came to the point she couldn’t move.”

Loveday called Strathmore Vets in Andover, but before they could treat Lily, the condition of Alfie, aged eight, then began to deteriorate. He shook and was unable to walk.

“We got there when most of the staff were on lunch but it was all hands on deck, they had three vets and four nurses working on the pair of them,” Brian added.

The couple were told that the dogs may have swallowed slug pellets and were advised to expect the worst as they continued to fit.

Over the next 48 hours Lily and Alfie were treated as in-patients, during much of the time they were under general anaesthetic to control their fitting and were given a gastric wash in a bid to get rid of the substance that was making them ill.

“They [the vets] did say that their condition was very serious and, in the case of Lily, life threatening. My wife and I weren’t sure if they were going to pull through and were distressed as we have loved these dogs for four and eight years.”

Brian said that he and his wife had a worrying time but can “breathe again” after their furry friends made a recovery.

However, the couple have been left questioning how their dogs were poisoned.

“Given that they were both continuously fitting they were rapidly put under general anaesthetic the vets were quite sure that this was due to poisoning.”

The couple are now urging anyone who has any information or might know how the dogs have been poisoned in Ragged Appleshaw to come forward.

Brian added: “The dog warden has been notified and word is spreading among the dog walking ‘brigade’.”