[nagdu] incredibly sad story and a reminder, dogs, yards and poison

[Laurel and Stockard]

Hi all,
I'll try and keep this short. Tonight I saw a story on facebook involving a few dogs in the service dog community. With out going into a lot of details on who these dogs were or what group they are affiliated with, they got out of their family's yard and got into the neighbor's yard, ate a bag of animal poison and had to be put down.
Guys, if you have yards, or are traveling to visit friends/family this holiday season, please, please ... please ... double and triple check that your yard, or that of a family member/friend, is safe and that all gates are propperly latched and closed before you let your dog out. If you need sighted help to ensure the safety of a yard, ask for it. It's seriously that important.
Secondly, please double and triple check that your family member/friend does not have any poison in the yard, and if you have poison in your yard or house, please, check and make sure that it's locked away safely where no dog can get it.
I know most of us probably do both of these things anyways, but this story is a tragic reminder to us of why it's critically important that we check these things.
I hope I never have to read another heartbreaking story like that again on facebook about dogs associated with our community being involved in a tragic accident like this. I'm sure it was an accident, and that the people who had these dogs feel horrible, but yeah.
Please, be mindful of yards, gates and animal poison, especially this time of year.
Hug your dogs
Laurel and Stockard