A LUDGERSHALL family have spoken of their relief that their dog has made a full recovery after it was poisoned recently.

The family fear something could have been left in their garden for their pet to eat.

It is the latest in a string of mysterious dog-poisoning incidents in the Tidworth and Ludgershall area.

Jacqui Goodall, of Collis Terrace, let her dog Bella out into the garden one morning and when she came back in it was obvious that something was wrong.

Mrs Goodall said: “She came in from the garden and she was sick everywhere.

“She was convulsing, her whole body was in spasm and her eyes kept rolling into the back of her head.

“It was awful.”

Mrs Goodall, her husband Nigel and their three children took the five-year-old Staffordshire Bull Terrier cross Whippet to the vet.

He immediately confirmed that she was showing the classic signs of poisoning.

The 32-year-old said: “When the vet said she had been poisoned you think the worst.

“He said he wouldn’t know whether he she was going to be alright or not at that stage.

“It was heartbreaking to see her like that.”

The vet kept a check on Bella for around an hour and in that time she started to recover.

Because she was so sick most of the poison had left her system before it could do too much damage.

Talking about the family’s relief, Mrs Goodall said: “I am just so pleased that she has made a full recovery.

“I would have been distraught if she hadn’t survived, the whole family would have been.

“She is a lovely dog.”

The couple along with children Aaron, 10, Kieran, eight and seven-year-old Shannen, have lived on Collis Terrace for three years and rescued Bella four years ago when she was one.

But even though Bella has made a full recovery, questions still remain about how she was poisoned.

The family were advised that the effects of poisoning are immediate.

Because she had not been anywhere other than their garden on the morning of 10 April, the poison must have been on their property, say the family.

Mrs Goodall added: “I am going to try to get to the bottom of it, something happened and I’m not going to rest until I know what it was.”

She has been in contact with Wiltshire Council to see if they can detect what might have caused the poisoning.

This follows a recent incident in Tidworth where a German Shepherd died after picking something up while out walking.

Another dog was also poisoned in Ludgershall after picking up a sausage laced with a substance in the Recreation Ground.