A dog owner from High Wycombe is ‘in shock’ at losing his beloved pet amid multiple reports of illness linked to a local park. 

Julian Walters, 62, took his 12-year-old Border Collie Blade for a walk at the Rye on Tuesday, June 18 – a well-trod local route that both pet and owner had been taking for years.

This time, though, was different. Despite no immediate signs of illness, Blade took a turn for the worse and became “violently sick” on Tuesday night.

Julian rushed him to the vet on Wednesday morning and he tragically passed away that afternoon.

Still “in a state of real shock” nearly a week on, the 62-year-old said his priority was finding what had caused the illness and preventing the same thing from happening to other dog owners.

“It was something toxic that caused him to haemorrhage. I tend to keep him out of the water, but he may have drunk something up by the boathouse.

“It just happened so quickly. He was fine until about 11pm on Tuesday, then he was gone less than 24 hours later.

“It’s hard to come to terms with because he was relatively fit and he wasn’t ill. I’ve never lost a dog under these circumstances before. It’s a really difficult thing to go through.”

(Image: Julian Walters)

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London-based emergency service the Veterinary Poisons Information Service and Animal Poison Line also issued a warning to pet owners in High Wycombe yesterday.

A spokesperson said: “We are aware of reports of dogs becoming unwell after being walked in/near the Wycombe Rye in High Wycombe.

“We are currently investigating these cases to see if they are linked and caused by a toxin.

“We would advise all dog owners to be vigilant whilst walking in that area and seek veterinary attention if they are concerned about their pet.”

Julian said his instinctive reaction after Blade's death last week was to spread awareness and contact local dog rescues and vets to see if anyone else had been impacted.

“I haven’t heard of other deaths, but three or four other dogs have apparently been ill after going to the Rye.

“I’ve given (the Animal Poison Line) permission to look at Blade’s records because I want to help the investigation in any way that I can. 

“We still don’t know what exactly happened, but his symptoms could have been from blue-green algae or fungus, or maybe even rat poison. I really hope it was something natural, and that they find and get rid of it quickly."