Dangerous rat poison scattered in Moreau yard puts family, pets at risk

MOREAU ( NEWS10 ) – A quiet Sunday evening in Moreau took a disturbing turn when a local mother found her 7-year-old son holding a bright green pellet he had picked up near their backyard swing set. Initially thinking it was a piece of candy, the woman—who requested her name not be used—became alarmed when similar pellets appeared in their front yard.

“I thought it was a piece of candy that got rained on,” she said. “When I started finding it in the front yard, I knew something was up. I asked my husband to take a look at it, and he identified it immediately as rat poison.”

The situation escalated when one of the family’s dogs was discovered chewing on another pellet near the driveway basketball hoop. Alarmed, the couple called ASPCA Poison Control and rushed both dogs to an emergency veterinarian. The family quickly learned that identifying the type of poison was crucial, as different poisons require different treatments.

“There’s no way to identify the type of rat poison,” the woman explained. “So they were induced to vomit. Then they were given activated charcoal medication to stop vomiting, IV fluids, and they’re now on vitamin K for a month because that’s the antidote to the kind that causes internal bleeding.”

Upon further inspection of their yard, the family was shocked to find hundreds of similar pellets scattered across the property. With the help of neighbors, they spent hours pulling more than 100 pellets from the grass on Sunday. A professional lawn care company came the following morning to thoroughly clean the yard, bagging countless pellets and picking up several more by hand.

The ordeal has already cost the family over $5,000 in vet bills, grooming, and yard cleanup. “We live in a safe neighborhood,” the woman said. “I would never think somebody would do something like this. We’ve never had any complaints about the dogs. We don’t have any issues with anybody.”

New York State Troopers have confirmed an investigation is underway but could not provide further details until an arrest is made. In the meantime, the family remains on high alert. “I am so paranoid that whoever did this is going to come back and do it again,” the woman said. “I will not let the dogs just be outside.”

The community is urged to stay vigilant as authorities continue to investigate.

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