Autistic boy’s care dog is poisoned by slug pellets

Ben Jansen with his support dog Hovis who died after eating slug pellets Archant

An 11-year-old autistic boy is distraught after his support dog died after eating slug pellets thrown over the gate of the family home in Martham.

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Ben Jansen’s one-year-old Labrador puppy, Hovis, was bred especially to help him cope with his condition but died after eating the slug pellets on Tuesday, October 13.

Ben’s mother, Debbie Jansen,45, cannot believe what has happened and admitted it had taken its toll on the whole family. She said: “I wouldn’t wish this upon anybody, I cannot believe somebody wants to do such a terrible thing to a child or a family pet. This has had a huge affect on the whole family and Ben is absolutely devastated.

“This isn’t just a pet we are talking about, this has taken away Ben’s best friend.

“The bond between them was incredible and Ben can’t understand why Hovis can’t come back. He is breaking down every half hour and isn’t sleeping very well at all.”

Hovis’s sister Luna had also swallowed a smaller portion of the pellets and was taken to Anchorage Veterinary Hospital in Acle along with Hovis and their mother Poppy, aged three, once Mrs Jansen had realised what had happened.

Luna was place on a drip and a small trace of the poison was found and wasn’t enough to cause serious damage. Poppy was also given the all clear.

However, Mrs Jansen said: “Hovis had seizures every 15 minutes and was placed into a coma by an anaesthetic before being transferred to Lowestoft Veterinary hospital.

“The seizures continued and became more frequent the following day and putting her down turned out to be the better option to stop her from suffering. Even if she had woken from her coma the internal damage would have been too much and she would have been blind and suffered from brain damage.”

Ben was diagnosed with autism last year and Hovis, who was given the nickname of Buddha after sitting like a “pot-belly buddha”, had been bred and trained especially to work alongside him.

Mrs Jansen explained: “We chose Labradors because of their placid nature and Hovis was great with Ben. She would help manage his anxiety and meltdowns by sensing them before they even happened.

“Hovis would walk over and lay on him to ensure he would stroke her and give her his full attention and the situation that was building would be solved.”

Alongside the huge effect the death of Hovis has had on the family, Luna and her mother Poppy, who was bred by Ben’s sister Tamara, are also struggling with what has happened with Mrs Jansen explaining Luna was “pining and whining for her sister while searching for her all over the house.”

Mrs Jansen has set-up a justgiving page for Ben and Hovis to try and raise the money required to pay for veterinary bills, which are over £1,000, and to train Luna to become Ben’s new support dog.

People wanting to donate can visit: crowdfunding.justgiving.com/Ben-and-Hovis-fund.

Great Yarmouth Police are investigating the incident and are appealing for any witnesses to come forward.

Any witnesses or anyone with information should call 101 or Crimestoppers anonymously on 0800 555 111.

Mrs Jansen is the founder of Slice of Advice, a voluntary support group for parents of children with autism, and now supports over 40 families who deal with the condition.