Click on the word to get Slovenian translation:

Most people like salamanders, these black creatures with yellow spots. However, they could also be very dangerous. Salamanders come out when it rains. In schools we learned that they can be toxic, and that is all. But nobody knows how toxic or even fatal to our four-legged friends they could be, except for people who have experienced it with their own dog.

I have decided to write a few words from my own experience. My dog has been poisoned by a salamander while taking a walk through the woods. Dogs rarely meet salamanders but these meetings can be highly fatal for a dog. Bright yellow spots warn a dog that they are poisonous. Nevertheless, no one can guarantee that a dog will not bite it. This is especially true for dogs who like to eat or bring everything that catches their interest.

If a dog bites or licks the salamander, it eliminates a highly toxic poison that is absorbed through the dog’s snout and goes straight into the blood. Symptoms of poisoning show in just a few minutes with vigorous contraction of muscles, faster breathing, shaking, secretion of saliva, whereby the animal undergoes a shock and dies from suffocation. Hence immediate treatment is extremely important but it is often unsuccessful. The intensity of the poisonous signs depends on the amount of poison absorbed, a dog’s body weight, body condition and the general state of health ...

It has passed 90 days since my dog was bitten by the salamander. Up till now, the dog shows the normal behaviour which suggests that my first aid has been successful.