A man from Hatfield has warned other dog owners about the dangers of grass seeds after his beloved Labrador was struck by a serious infection.

Mike Izzard - a popular member of the community who helped restore the abandoned Nast Hyde Halt station - saw his four-year-old dog Baz lose 20 per cent of his nose structure following an infection.

The first signs of a problem came at the end of last summer, with Mike telling the Welwyn Hatfield Times: "I was out walking Baz and he had this enormous sneezing fit.

"It went on for quite some time and then it happened again a few weeks later.

"A month or so later we noticed a green discharge coming from one of his nostrils, so we took him to the vet who said we should monitor him."

The problem persisted before the cause we eventually found.

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"Well he carried on having this discharge, so they said they could put a probe up there to check for any kind of foreign object that might have got up there, but they only had limited technology and couldn’t see anything," Mike continued. 

"It carried on pouring out of his nose, so we checked him in at Davies in Hitchin.

"They saw quite clearly that he had a huge infection in his nose, which was inflamed and causing the discharge.

"He has lost 20 per cent of his nose structure because the infection had eaten away at it."

Welwyn Hatfield Times: Mike is urging other dog owners to mindful of the dangers of grass seeds.Mike is urging other dog owners to mindful of the dangers of grass seeds. (Image: Mike Izzard)

Thankfully, Baz is showing signs of recovery, with a high dose of antibiotics "winning the battle", but he will continued to be monitored over the next four months.

As for the cause of the infection, the vets believe one of two things could be to blame.

"They said it could be nasal aspergillosis, which is a fungal infection that is caused if a dog goes too near to rotting food," said Mike.

"It’s airborne, so like getting a cold, but it’s fungal so it just grows and grows. It’s extremely difficult to cure as well.

"They said it could have been caused by a foreign object such as a grass seed that’s gone up his nose, and of course we remembered the sneezing fit he had."

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Despite initially believing that rotten food waste was behind Baz's infection, Mike now firmly believes a grass seed is the cause.

"The council are letting all the verges grow to protect the wildlife, which is fair enough and I have absolutely no problem with that, but grass seeds do carry lots of bacteria and can cause huge infections," he continued. 

"Baz had that sneezing fit towards the end of the growing season, and like most dogs, he loves running through long fields, but he’d come back covered in these seeds.

"It only takes one to creep into the wrong place and you’ve got a huge problem.

"I just want to urge people to be mindful of their dogs near long grass, because they are at risk and you can be left with a massive vet bill."