By Andrew Atkinson

The owner of a dog has sent out a warning following the suspected poisoning of her canine while out on a walk in La Mata.

“My dog Benji ate something poisonous in La Mata during a walk from the cemetery up to the doves,” said Stephanie Lilith.

“We don’t know what he ate – but he was left in a state of  critical condition,” said Stephanie.

“Maybe someone knows what he could have eaten? But rat poison has been ruled out by the veterinary surgeon,” she added.

The poisonous effect on the canine comes after poisoning incidents in Los Balcones.

It was suggested that the dog could have suffered the effects of processionary caterpillars hairs.

Reports of processionary caterpillars nests have been made already, with nests being destroyed in December.

Stephanie said: “The symptoms are the dog going from healthy, to suffering from poison, within 20 minutes.

“Foaming at the mouth, shaking, muscle spasms, pain, problems with balance, and fluids leaking out, including saliva, urine and faeces.”

Dead squirrels have also been reported in the area. Vicente Bernabeu also reported his dog had been taken ill from snail poison.