"Huskies4all"

Thanks Allegra. The owner saw the cat walk through the area she sprayed
almost immediately after the spraying was done. We think that the cat
then licked the spray off it's fur.

On another interesting note, MY dog chewed his way into our shed, and
chewed up a bottle of Roundup concentrate. (He was named Fritz the
Houdini Husky for a reason) He had NO ill effects besides a bit of
diarrhea, which he was prone to anyway. Go figure. The differences in
dogs and cats are vast. Cats just can't metabolize things the way
dogs/people can. Even essential oils can quickly become toxic to cats.

I agree with your philosophy on pets. Pets and garden chemicals are a
BAD THING together. Of course, I'm scared to death I'll accidentally
kill my roses, so I only use it in limited areas. Our neighbor once
killed our lawn by applying soil sterilizer, then watering the driveway
that the soil sterilizer had been applied on. Of course, it's downhill
to our house, so we had a nice "river" of dead lawn from his property
across to our water meter depression for 3 years.

CJ

Absolutely about the differences. Many years ago I had a Borzoi,
her name was Natasha and she was one of the most incredible dogs
you would want to meet. My daughter learned to walk from her and
more than once I walked into the nursery to see her literally teething
on poor Tasha's ears. She was the gentlest of all creatures, and I will
love her forever. In those days I had help taking care of my garden,
and the people who came to clean and mow and all the other chores,
apparently placed some slug bait, a certain brown goo that appears
to be even now quite appealing to dogs and cats. I found out she ate
some because her exquisite champagne color coat was marked with
brown goo not only around her mouth but all over her paws as well.

A quick call to the poison control center and several capfuls of
hydrogen peroxide later, the very unhappy dog was vomiting all
over. I was even more worried then but after a night spent watching
her who slept like a log while I watched her, she was fine and I was
exhausted. I strongly then demanded that nothing be applied to the
garden without my knowledge and consent and we never had a
similar incident again. By contrast, a neighbor had a darling cat that
worried me to death as I was sure she would be killed by a car since
she was always outside. No gentle talking or insinuating this danger
to her owner made any difference. The city came one year to spray
the borders of the road and I don't need to tell you the rest, I am sure.

Loving owners keep their pets inside when spraying and when not
unless their yards are fenced and they are there when the pets are
out. And above all, they spray in the evening, they make sure all pets
(and children) are inside and they stay inside. About your neighbor,
well you are kinder than I am. Would that have happened to me I
would have expected a replacement of the soil after the sterilized
one was removed and if you still wanted the grass, to be replaced
as well. It is not the chemicals that are dangerous, but the ignorant
people who insist on using them without learning both their benefits
and their hazards. Give a car to a 12 year old who doesn't know
how to drive but who can reach the gas pedal, and you have the
same results.

Do you know if your soil can be amended or if it needs to lay fallow
for even a longer time?

Allegra