Albany Creek mum warns pet owners of backyard dangers after dogs eat toxic plant

A Brisbane couple has warned pet owners about a toxic danger after their dogs suffered a horrific reaction that would have killed them if not for life-saving intervention.

A common plant that could be lurking in your backyard has caused heartache and a $10,000 vet bill for a Brisbane couple.

Kim and Dennis Quirk want pet owners to be aware of what lurks in their gardens after a brush with death for their two beloved pooches.

Cooper, 7, and Buddy, 2, were playing happily in the backyard of their Albany Creek home when they became violently ill.

Mother of five Kim says the family had no idea what was about to unfold.

“Cooper, the golden retriever, just walked in with this look on his face like ‘oh I’ve done something wrong 'and he just started to shake quite violently,” Mrs Quirk said.

“I went over to calm him and I couldn’t … at which point I turned around and our little guy he just went straight on his back and he started to shake.”

Golden Retriever Cooper, 7 at the Quirk’s family home in Albany Creek. Picture: Contributed.

The family bundled the golden retriever and Shih tzu cross into the car and headed straight for the vet.

There the Quirks were asked whether the canine duo had ingested any type of poison, bought in any new plants, and if there was any rat bait on the property they could’ve been exposed to.

In the meantime, both dogs had suffered from seizures.

Mrs Quirk sent her son back to their home to see if he could spot anything out of place while the veterinarian administered charcoal.

The 64-year-old and her 70-year-old husband were then sent home, left to wait in hope.

A cousin then sent the Albany Creek couple a list of toxic plants, it was then they discovered that the Sago Palm was deadly to dogs if ingested.

Mr Quirk had been chopping down one of those very plants on their property earlier that day.

The Quirk’s believe a Sago Palm poisoned both their dogs. Picture: Contributed.

They believe Cooper and Buddy, who like to play with palm fronds, had picked up some of the Sago plant leaving them exposed.

The palm is a popular houseplant known for its feathery foliage and can be grown indoors and outdoors.

What pet owners may not know though is all parts of a sago palm are considered poisonous with the seeds being the most toxic part of the plant.

Sago palm contains cycasin, which is the primary active toxic agent resulting in severe liver failure in dogs.

Symptoms can include drooling, vomiting and diarrhoea all within 15 minutes to several hours after ingestion.

Even with aggressive treatment, the survival rate is only about 50 per cent.

Mrs Quirk said while she was relieved to find the cause of the poisoning it was an extremely distressing time.

“We were both in tears, it was so traumatic,” she said.

The day they took Buddy out and he just looked at me with this forlorn look, save me, save me and it was heartbreaking.

“We feel like we’ve been hit by a truck, it’s been a bit of a blur.”

Buddy, 2, is recovering after being poisoned by a Sago Palm. Picture: Contributed.

The vet bill came in at about $10,000 for the pair.

“We lost one golden retriever and we lost him last year and we were mortified … we know what it’s like to lose an animal and the hole that it puts in a family so to lose two at one time would’ve been just too much to take,” Mrs Quirk said.

“We’ve got five grown up kids and they’re now our babies.

“They’re both beautiful dogs with very unique personalities, they’re wonderful.”

The Quirks are hoping to warn other pet owners of the dangers that could be hiding in plain sight.

“We had two of them (sago palms) in our backyard for 14 years,” she sad.

“You see them everywhere and not many people would be in the financial position that we’re in that we could afford to pay for that.

“Please just look around in your yards.”