Horror as dog dies after inhaling grass seed in Brighton

Louise Almeida, 46, is distraught after losing her two-year-old cockapoo Ginga.

But Brighton and Hove City Council said owners need to watch out where their pets are walking and said the issue was “something we cannot eliminate.”

Louise said she felt sad for Ginga, adding: “You get really annoyed but I don’t know how to prevent it.

Louise with her dog, Ginga

“Ginga was really active and healthy and everyone in the middle of Brighton knew her.

“Her local park was just covered in grass seeds, they’re really sticky and sharp on the end.”

Ms Almeida, who lives in North Laine, noticed Ginga was very sleepy and had problems breathing so she took her to the vet.

The vet said the dog had a bacterial infection caused by a grass seed in her lung. Despite being put in an oxygen tent to try and help her breathing, the decision was made to have Ginga put down the following day.

Barley grass seeds can be dangerous to dogs as they can get stuck in paws as well as in ears and noses, although deaths from grass seeds are uncommon.

According to Ms Almeida, she was told by the vet that they had not seen a case like this in 15 years.

Ginga died as a result of inhaling a grass seed

Ms Almeida is calling for the council to be aware of the problem of the grass seeds in parks, verges and pavements all over the city.

There has been widespread anger over the extent of weeds in Brighton and Hove since the council banned the use of weedkiller.

A council spokesman said: “Barley grass has been growing in verges across the country for a long time now. It is naturally occurring and is something we cannot eliminate.

“Staff and equipment shortages caused by Covid and Brexit have made it difficult to recruit the people we need to do the work.

“In order to minimise the risk to a dog, owners should be careful to check where their dog walks.”