A litter of three pups and their parents were abandoned and left to die in a remote mountain area between Hondon and Albatera.
An attempt, to no avail, was made to help after one of the dogs had strayed onto the mountain road, away from the pack – that included what are deemed as the litter and parents.
The dogs were last seen in the bushes of into the woods where the processionary deadly poisonous caterpillar nests are currently in situ – posing a death threat.
The caterpillars are covered in poisonous hairs with a toxin that can be fatal to dogs – and also dangerous to humans suffering an allergic reaction.
In Madrid a veterinary clinic reports an increase in cases of dog poisoning by the caterpillars.
Symptoms see dogs scratching at the mouth, in a bid to remove hairs, causing profuse saliva: “They can die,” said vet Juan Luis Segado.
Injuries to dogs include the tongue, oesophagus and stomach swelling, that in some cases leads to death.
A dog’s tongue suffers from necrosis, if it comes in contact with a processionary caterpillars hairs.
The remote area where the pups and parents were abandoned were ultimately ‘dumped to die’ on the Alberta side of the mountain.
