Boots was put down on the advice of a vet due to the pain he was in

Boots, a terrier, was put down on the advice of a vet because of the pain he was in.

His owners, the Jeremiah family, fear a herbicide used by Carmarthenshire Council caused the reaction.

The authority is looking into the incident but said it is confident the chemical is not to blame.

My daughter, partner and I were extremely upset at seeing the dog suffering so much Spencer Jeremiah

Spencer Jeremiah was taking his daughter Philippa's dog for a walk along a verge near their home in the village of Llanfallteg.

He said he noticed Boots started bumping into objects in his path and his eyes were watering and irritated.

"We walk along there virtually every evening in the summer and he has gone past that place hundreds of times," he explained.

"He was virtually blind within five minutes."

Boots was taken to a vet at Narberth who washed his eyes out and gave him strong painkillers.

Temporary signs

"We kept him on the painkillers for two weeks on the chance there would be an improvement but it did not happen and on the vet's advice made the decision to put him down.

"My daughter, partner and I were extremely upset at seeing the dog suffering so much."

Mr Jeremiah later discovered council workmen had been spaying the roadside verge earlier in the day.

He claims that there is no other explanation for the cause of the reaction and wants temporary signs put warning people every time such chemicals are used.

Friends of the Earth Cymru and the Pesticide Action Network have backed his call.

There is no proof that the herbicide was responsible for causing the allergic reaction in the dog Council officer Phil Williams

"I don't want a penny in compensation, although if they want to pay the vet's bill that's fine," added Mr Jeremiah.

"We are pursuing the issue because we do not want this sort of thing to happen to anyone else."

Phil Williams, from Carmarthenshire council, said the herbicide, which treats Japanese knotweed, had been used in Britain for 40 years.

'Full investigation'

"It has been used for many years in this authority and the former Dyfed and this is the first complaint of this nature that had been made," he said.

"There is no proof that the herbicide was responsible for causing the allergic reaction in the dog.

"The material has been extensively tested by the manufacturers, and has been subject to Government scrutiny under the Control of Pesticide regulations.

"We are, however, taking the complaint seriously and are carrying out a full investigation in conjunction with the suppliers of the material which we are confident will prove the herbicide used was not responsible for this sad incident."

Alison Craig of the Pesticide Action Network said: "We are campaigning for a new public right to know what pesticides have been sprayed near people's homes and next to rights of way.

"We want signs in fields giving at least a hotline number or website so people can find out what they are being exposed to."

Friends of the Earth Cymru spokesman Gordon James said: "This tragic incident raises a number of issues.