My name is Donna Kaminski.

I'm a dog mom in Orlando, Florida.

My four-year-old golden retriever, Biscuit, is not subtle about his curiosity.

If it's on the floor and it smells interesting, it goes in his mouth.

So when roaches started showing up in my kitchen last spring, I did my research.

I wasn't going to spray chemicals. Not with Biscuit licking every inch of that floor.

I found Combat bait stations. The label said "child-resistant." It looked contained. Small. Safe.

I put two under the sink and one behind the refrigerator exactly where the instructions said.

I felt like a responsible pet owner.

I was wrong.

Two days later, I walked into the kitchen and found Biscuit with his entire snout wedged into the cabinet under the sink.

He had the bait station in his mouth.

He was licking it.

My stomach dropped.

I grabbed it away from him, checked how much was gone, and went straight to Google.

"Combat gel bait toxic to dogs."

The results scared me.

I called the vet. She said the amount was probably not enough to cause serious harm. But to watch him for the next 48 hours.

Watch him for tremors. For excessive drooling. For lethargy.

I sat on the kitchen floor with Biscuit in my lap until midnight.

Reading poison control numbers.

Watching his eyes.

He was fine. I was not fine.

And the roaches? They came back the following week.

I had created a second danger in my house trying to eliminate the first.