Stay up to date with notifications from The Independent

Notifications can be managed in browser preferences.

Springwatch’s Michaela Strachan reveals dogs were poisoned by crystal meth on walk in Cape Town

Wildlife presenter says the animals have since recovered

Isobel Lewis
Tuesday 17 August 2021 02:46 EDT
Comments
Strachan with her dog Rio (left) and the pets during their “guest appearance in ‘Breaking Bad’"
Strachan with her dog Rio (left) and the pets during their “guest appearance in ‘Breaking Bad’" (Michaela Strachan/Instagram)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Michaela Strachan has revealed that her dogs had seizures after being poisoned by crystal meth in South Africa.

On Sunday (15 August), the Springwatch presenter had been walking her two pets, Rio and Timmy, in Cape Town, where she lives.

However, alongside a photo shared to Instagram of the two animals wrapped up in blankets, Strachan described how things had taken a turn during the “rough night”.

“After walking my dogs through a ruined fort on the mountain yesterday, a few hours later they looked like they were both having seizures and couldn’t stand up,” she wrote.

“We rushed them to the vet and she recognised the symptoms as an overdose of a drug called Tik, Crystal meth, apparently the ruined fort is where a lot of homeless people hang out and take tik so the dogs must’ve eaten human poo with tik in it!”

Explaining that the vet had “extraordinarily” experienced this before, Strachan continued: “The vet has come across the problem before. Spent the night nursing them through their hectic trips as they shook, twitched, vomitted [sic] and peed.

“Waking up confused, disorientated, paranoid and spaced out. Fortunately they seem to be through the worst of it this morning. Seriously, you couldn’t make it up!”

Fortunately, the dogs made a full recovery, with the TV host posting a video of the dogs enjoying a walk on the beach on Monday (16 August) as they were “back to their old selves”.

“Tails wagging, noses wet, tongues out and chasing seaweed,” Strachan wrote, adding: “Seemingly none the worse for their guest appearance in Breaking Bad!”

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in