PAUL Mudie knew his dog, Hitch, had eaten something found in undergrowth during his evening walk – but he was not prepared for the appalling consequences.

Within an hour the fiveyear- old labrador was gravely ill as mycotoxins from mouldy discarded food attacked his system. A day later, he was dead.

Now a distraught Mr Mudie and the vet who tried to save his stricken pet are appealing to people not to throw away uneaten food.

They are also warning other dog owners to be vigilant.

Mr Mudie, of Sedbury, took Hitch on his regular walk along Sedbury Lane last Friday evening.

“My back was turned, I called him twice and he ran back licking his chops, so I knew he’d found something,”

he said.

“We got home, he had his food, and I kicked a football around the garden for him.

“He seemed a little off balance, then started shaking as if he was cold, and panting.

I thought it might be heatstroke.”

After hosing Hitch down, Mr Mudie rang vet Glenn Marlow in Chepstow, who also suspected heatstroke.

But 20 minutes later, with Hitch “frantic and scared”

Mr Mudie suspected something much nastier.

He took Hitch to the vet and retraced his steps on Sedbury Lane.

Among dumped items, he discovered a ripped carrier bag containing mouldy remnants of food, some wrapped in foil.

“It might have contained cheese, but it was black and dusty, and not really recognisable as food.”

Hitch was sedated for much of the night and following day, but his condition deteriorated and the decision was made on Saturday to put him to sleep.

“It was awful. I wouldn’t want anyone else to have that happen.

“Littering isn’t just an inconvenience. It can be fatal,” said Mr Mudie.”

Vet Glenn Marlow, of G&C Marlow Vets, said he had not seen a case like it, and believes the hot weather may have quickened the mouldering process.

“The equivalent in humans is eating poisonous mushrooms,” he said.